Measurement of Eastern Rwanda’s Wetlands to Assess the Water Quality: Case of Lake Cyohoha North

Abstract

Rwanda’s natural resources are threatened by the over-increasing population pressure. Impacts on the eastern Rwanda ecosystems include land degradation, soil erosion and climate change; water quality is highlighted as the big issue. Lake Cyohoha North was selected as one of East African Lakes that is famously known to have changed from water body to wetland, and into agricultural land. As the Government of Rwanda refilled water into the former lake Cyohoha North area, its water quality is very important now. This manuscript’s main objective is to design an onsite remote sensing system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) technology for water-quality measurement. The total dissolved solids (TDS), optical properties as well as the water surface temperature are measured from the lake of interest: results from the prototyped onsite remote sensing system are discussed in comparison with the satellite remote sensing data. The overall system will be scalable to a Tools for Evaluating East African Lakes (TEAL), which will be deployed in different other Lakes of the region such as Lake Mugesera and Lake Rumira, for instance. An Arduino Uno/Nano Microcontroller Unity, linked to Internet through a GSM Module, is at the center of the designed IoT-based onsite remote sensing system for water quality, to command different sensors (a Mini spectrometer, a thermistor, and a TDS sensor). Thus, the water quality for fishery, for household, and for other uses such as irrigation, can be monitored on the real-time basis. Farmers will be educated on the utilization of Lake Cyohoha North’s water as well as the rest of neighboring wetland’s water use for the benefits of local and regional population through agricultural cooperatives. In end, the total water quality is assured by comparing satellite data with the in-situ remote sensing data. The wetland’s water resources will be characterized for different uses such as irrigation, feeding the small and large livestock, including the fish.