Blockchain-Enabled Water Quality Monitoring: A Comprehensive Review of Digital Innovations and Challenges

This paper explores how blockchain technology, widely known as the backbone of cryptocurrencies, can be harnessed to address limitations of traditional water quality monitoring (WQM) systems. Blockchain offers a decentralized, tamper-proof ledger that enables secure, transparent, and traceable data management across distributed networks. When applied to water quality monitoring, blockchain facilitates real-time data acquisition, enhances data integrity, and enables smart contracts for automated regulatory compliance and alerts. These features not only improve the accuracy and efficiency of WQM systems but also build public trust in the reported data. Key insights from current research and pilot applications highlight blockchain's capacity to integrate with IoT devices for real-time sensing, support adaptive water governance, and empower local stakeholders through decentralized control and transparent access to information. The implications for policy and practice are significant: blockchain-based WQM can support stronger regulatory enforcement, encourage cross-sector collaboration, and provide a robust digital foundation for sustainable water management in smart cities and rural areas alike. As such, this paper positions blockchain as a transformative tool in the digital transition toward more resilient and equitable water management systems.