A review of watershed-scale water quality monitoring: Integrating real-time systems and spatial modeling for sustainable water resource management

Maintaining water quality is essential for numerous fields, but pollution challenges have become more pronounced with population growth and industrial expansion. Although monitoring technologies have advanced, comprehensive watershed analyses remain limited, especially in developing countries. This study conducts a bibliometric review of watershed-scale water quality monitoring research, applying the PRISMA 2020 method alongside tools such as Scopus, VOSviewer, Orange Data Mining, and qualitative content analysis to identify trends, research gaps, and future directions across 107 studies. From 2005 to 2024, there has been a significant rise in research on real-time monitoring systems and spatial modeling in water quality, with notable peaks. The United States leads in publication volume, while 'Watershed Flow Modeling' remains underexplored and underrepresented. Studies show that implementing real-time monitoring systems and spatial modeling in developing countries faces challenges related to infrastructure and funding. However, recent advancements in IoT-based tools and satellite remote sensing are progressively enhancing water resource management.