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Fuzzy Logic Model to Determine Water Quality

Rajesh Ranjan
Roll No: 09CE23
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721302, India
Email: rajesh.ranjan.0812@gmail.com
Abstract
In recent years fuzzy set theory has emerged as a transcendental tool to deal with environmental
engineering application having uncertainty, ambiguity and subjectivity. Analysis of surface water
quality plays significant role in environmental impact assessment studies. For qualitative description
of surface water quality, number of physical, chemical and biological parameters are taken into
consideration, allotted a weightage factor and calculated into an index called water quality index
(WQI). Water quality index uses crisp set to analyse water contaminants and hence deals with
standing boundary conditions. This paper illustrates use of fuzzy inference system for analysing
physical and chemical parameters to assess surface water quality. A water quality index calculated
with fuzzy inference system has been developed and discussed.
Introduction
Determination of status of water quality of a river or any other water sources is highly indeterminate.
The current method of determining water quality index which is in practice utilizes statistical approach
and is not precise in most of the time. Nowadays environmental protection and water quality
management has become an important issue in public policies throughout the world. Moreover,
government is concerned about the quality of their environmental resources because of the
complexity in water quality data sets. Many countries have introduced a scheme for river water quality
monitoring and assessment, examining separate stretches of fresh water. Water Quality Index (WQI)
is computed for classification of water wherein the integration of parametric information on water
quality data and the experts knowledge base on their importance and weights are considered.
Considerable uncertainties are involved in the process of defining water quality for designated uses.
It is necessary to have a competent model to predict the status of water quality. The development of
the fuzzy model for a river system is explained in this paper. In this model, the inputs are in the form
of fuzzy variables viz. DO, NTU, Coli, TDS, Nitrate and pH and then a fuzzy set is formed using these
variables. These fuzzy sets are computed upon using fuzzy logic tools and the output is defuzzified to
get an output crisp set of Water Quality Index (WQI). Presently, WQI in most of the countries is
referring to physic-chemical parameters only due to great efforts needed to quantify the biological
parameters. This study ensures a better method to include pathogens into WQI due to superior
capabilities of fuzzy logic in dealing with non-linear, complex and uncertain systems.
Parameters for WQI
Through an expert survey, it was found out that WQI depends on 35 variables .Obviously, giving 35
parameters involved in the formulation of water quality index are conflicting with the main goal of this
project because the aim of this project is selected to limit the number of variables entering the water
quality index formula. For this purpose, a table was made and these 35 variables were grouped in six
groups varied physical, chemical, biological, inorganic compounds, trace elements and organic

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elements to get experts opinions . At this stage, experts were requested to choose only one of the
most important variables from each group. Based on expert opinions received, the number of five
variables, including turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and total
coliform was chosen as main parameters.
Nitrate and suspended solid variables were considered as parameters that could be used in the
calibration process of index formulation. Finally, the nitrate component was used as variable involved
in the formulation, and suspended solid was removed. The weight factors according to their
importance were given :- Dissolved Oxygen (0.22), total coliform (0.19), turbidity (0.16), nitrate (0.15),
total dissolved solids (0.16) and pH (0.12).[2,4]
1. pH: The pH level is a measure of the acid content of the water. Most forms of aquatic life tend
to be very sensitive to pH. Since most of the human body consists of (50-60%) water, the pH
level has profound effect on all body chemistry, health and disease.
2. Dissolved Oxygen: The dissolved oxygen test measures the amount of life-sustaining oxygen
dissolved in the water. Natural waters in equilibrium with the atmosphere will contain
dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging from about 5 to 14.5 mg O2 per litre depending on
the water temperature, salinity, and altitude. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration
present in water reflects atmospheric dissolution, as well as autotrophic and heterotrophic
processes that respectively, produce and consume oxygen. DO is the factor that determines
whether biological changes are brought by aerobic or anaerobic organisms. Thus, dissolved
oxygen measurement is vital for maintaining aerobic treatment processes intended to purify
domestic and industrial wastewaters. The optimum value for good water quality is 4 to 6 mg/L
of DO, which ensures healthy aquatic life in a water body.
3 Effect of turbidity: Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by
individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar
to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can contain
suspended solid matter consisting of particles of many different sizes. While some suspended
material will be large enough and heavy enough to settle rapidly to the bottom of the container
if a liquid sample is left to stand (the settable solids), very small particles will settle very slowly
or not at all if the sample is regularly agitated or the particles are colloidal. These small solid
particles cause the liquid to appear turbid. Turbidity is also concerned with aesthetic point of
view. High turbid water shortens the filter runs. Many pathogenic organisms may be encased
in the particles and protected from the disinfectant.
4. Microorganisms: In drinking water microorganisms can cause sensory defects (odour, colour,
taste). Microorganisms are an important cause of the corrosion of steel pipes. Various health
related problems due to contaminated waters are diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and vomiting
due to salmonella, cholera is due to vibrio cholera, infection of lungs due to mycobacterium.
5. Total Dissolved Solids: This is a measure of the solid materials dissolved in the river water.
This includes salts, some organic materials, and a wide range of other things from nutrients to
toxic materials. The amount and nature of dissolved and undissolved matter occurring in liquid
materials vary greatly. Waters with higher solids content have laxative and sometimes the
reverse effect upon people whose bodies are not adjusted to them. TDS consists of oxygen
demanding wastes, disease-causing agents, which can cause immense harm to public health.
6. Nitrogen: Eutrophication is the slow, natural nutrient enrichment of streams and lakes and is
responsible for the "aging" of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Excessive amounts of nutrients,
especially nitrogen and phosphorus, speed up the eutrophication process. As algae grow and
then decompose they deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water. This condition usually results
in fish kills, offensive odours, unsightliness, and reduced attractiveness of the water for
recreation and other public uses.
Fuzzy Logic Interface
In this study, the fuzzy logic formalism has been used to access river water quality. The fuzzy
inference process involves three crucial steps: membership functions, fuzzy set operations and
inference rules. Fuzzy model was developed with physio-chemical determinants of significance
ratings curve to evaluate the River water quality.
Fuzzy logic is the flexible tool to develop classification model with a simple framework and
constructed with natural language. In this study, water quality index value was obtained to express the
classification of river in order to make water quality assessment more understandable, especially in

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public consideration. It has been demonstrated that computing with linguistic terms within fuzzy
inference system (FIS) improves the tolerance for imprecise data. A fuzzy model for river water quality
assessment has been developed. Different shapes of membership functions can be used, depending
upon the type of application. The right prediction of the fuzzy model depends on the number of
fuzzy sets used in the mapping process, since it facilitates to give more continuity to the universe of
discourse. However, in this paper, each of the six input quality determinants has been divided into five
categories, and the Gaussian curve membership function. The membership functions were assigned
as shown in Figure 1. Gaussian curve membership functions were used and the parameters are given
in Table 1, and linguistic classification of water quality index is shown in Table 2. Five fuzzy sets have
been considered to be suitable for this study. The amount of overlap, the width and the shape of fuzzy
sets should be considered by an expert for each input variable. Ranges for fuzzy sets were based on
interim national quality standards for Iran. Ranges of fuzzy sets used are shown in Table 1. Six
quality determinants have been selected to evaluate water quality by means of an aggregated index
called fuzzy water quality (FWQ) index. Defuzzification of output is achieved by centroidal method as
it is the most prevalent and physically appealing to all available methods.

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Robustness of the system depends on the number and quality of the rules. For the selected set of six
water quality determinants, the most prominent 58 rules have been used. For example, fuzzy rules
are chosen, if the levels of organic matter in a river are very low, and the levels of dissolved oxygen
are very high, then the expected water quality is very good. In fuzzy description, it could be
pronounced as follows: Rule 1: If TDS is good, and DO is good then WQI is good. In the same way,
other rules can be enunciated.
Results
The water quality for the Karoon River of Iran at the Shatit Station has been assessed with the FWQ
index. Data sets from Iranian Environment Protection Agency of Iran were used to assess water
quality. In the fuzzy model, DO, TDS and turbidity shows high acceptability and are mainly affected by
total dissolved solid values and faecal coliform. The sampling station exhibit an acceptable water
quality. The DO found was 75, turbidity was 18.5 NTU, TDS was 913, Total Coliform was
approximately 20000, pH was 8.5 and Nitrate was 6 and as per the fuzzy rules the WQI was found out
to be 37.1 which means that this water falls in Class II and is classified as Good. FWQ output was
found to agree with the real condition reported by IEPA-WQI.
Similarly the water of the Subranrekha river at a station in Jamshedpur was found out for which data
was taken from a research article.[3] The DO found was 6.87, turbidity was 6.8 NTU, TDS was 256,
Total Coliform was approximately 12000, pH was 6.8 and Nitrate was 120 and as per the fuzzy rules
the WQI was found out to be 77.4 and ii is classified as Marginal. So, it can be concluded that this
river has high level of pollution which we expected as many industries are located along its bank.
Summary
In this study, a robust decision-making tool for water management in the form of the fuzzy water
quality (FWQ) index is presented. The flexibility of the Fuzzy logic to develop classification model with
a simple framework, construct with natural language, should be recommended in the development of
similar environmental indices in which highly subjective information must be correlated. In this study,
one index value was obtained to express the classification of river in order to make water quality
assessment more understandable especially in public consideration. A simple representation of the
extensive and complex variables (physical, biological and chemical) that govern the overall quality of
surface water that is intended for potable use was provided. Based on expert opinions, six water
quality parameters including DO, turbidity, pH, TDS, nitrate, and faecal coli form were considered as
the significant indicator parameters of FWQI to assess the quality of surface water sources. It has
been demonstrated that computing with linguistic terms within fuzzy inference system (FIS) improves
the tolerance for imprecise data. . The application of the new index was demonstrated at a sampling
station on Karoon River in Iran, based on observed water quality data. It was shown using Fuzzy
model that water quality has high sustainability with the expected results in the Karoon River.
Future Directions

Once WQI has been developed using fuzzy logic interface, then it can be decided for what purpose
this water is more suitable ( domestic use, fisheries, industrial use, etc.). From the WQI, the level of
treatment required for the water for a particular purpose can also been determined.
This index can be extended to be used by different countries. The important parameters and their
weight factors may vary according the country. For example, for India some places have large
variation in temperature while other have less and this variation in temperature affects the water
quality as many of the physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of a river are directly affected
by temperature. The Indian Codes give 10 % weightage to Temperature for determining WQI. Also
the number fuzzy variables can be increased to get a more appropriate index.
So, WQI based on fuzzy logic can be developed by different countries and assist decision makers in
reporting the state of water quality, investigation of spatial and temporal changes. It is expected that

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fuzzy logic concepts, if used logically, could be an effective tool for some of the environmental policy
matters.
References
1. Babaei Semiromi , Hassani, Torabian , Karbassi, and Hossein zadeh Lotfi (2011).
Water quality index development using fuzzy logic: A case study of the Karoon River of Iran.
African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 10(50), pp. 10125-10133.
2. Raman Bai V, Reinier Bouwmeester and Mohan S (2009).
Fuzzy Logic Water Quality Index and Importance of Water Quality Parameter.
Air, Soil and Water Research 2009:2 5159
3. Parmar Kavita & Parmar Vineeta(2010).
Evaluation of water quality index for drinking purposes of river Subernarekha in Singhbhum
District.
International Journal of Environmental Sciences 2010:1 Pg 77-81.
4. http://www.water-research.net