A novel approach to predict Water Quality Index using machine learning models: A review of the methods employed and future possibilities

Abstract

The development of computer models for water quality index forecasting has been a leading research topic worldwide which has been considerably recognized over the last two decades; the balance between efficient water quality requires a good water management technique. The balance is said to be achieved through various procedures many of which require the application of computer-aided forecasting tools. In this paper, a decade research review on the water quality index in the field of artificial intelligence was carried out with the aim to present the most viable or most suitable methods and models to be adopted for future researchers in the field of water quality. The review incorporates the developed models such as ANN, ANFIS, SVM, other regression or time-series, and other soft computing models. This research shows that the study focused on a decade review of the methods and models, and also, there is room for long-term forecasts. It also shows that there is no single AI model that outperforms all the remaining AI models but It is necessary to evaluate the strength of each model combination for each region thus to know what type of method or model that works best for the country or region. The use of AI has grown significantly in recent decades however there is enough room for researchers to duel in and improve in the field of water quality index.