Wireless Sensor Network, 2014, 6, 281-290 Published Online December 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/wsn http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/wsn.612027 How to cite this paper: Faustine, A., Mvuma, A.N., Mongi, H.J., Gabriel, M.C., Tenge, A.J. and Kucel, S.B. (2014) Wireless Sensor Networks for Water Quality Monitoring and Control within Lake Victoria Basin: Prototype Development. Wireless Sensor Network, 6, 281-290. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/wsn.612027 Wireless Sensor Networks for Water Quality Monitoring and Control within Lake Victoria Basin: Prototype Development Anthony Faustine 1 , Aloys N. Mvuma 1 , Hector J. Mongi 1 , Maria C. Gabriel 1 , Albino J. Tenge 1 , Samuel B. Kucel 2 1 The University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania 2 Busitema University, Tororo, Uganda Email: sambaiga@gmail.com , anmvuma@gmail.com , hjmongi@yahoo.com , magc5185@yahoo.co.uk , ajtenge@gmail.com , sbkucel@gmail.com Received 3 October 2014; revised 9 November 2014; accepted 9 December 2014 Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract The need for effective and efficient monitoring, evaluation and control of water quality in Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) has become more demanding in this era of urbanization, population growth and climate change and variability. Traditional methods that rely on collecting water samples, testing and analyses in water laboratories are not only costly but also lack capability for real-time data capture, analyses and fast dissemination of information to relevant stakeholders for making timely and informed decisions. In this paper, a Water Sensor Network (WSN) system prototype developed for water quality monitoring in LVB is presented. The development was preceded by evaluation of prevailing environment including availability of cellular network coverage at the site of operation. The system consists of an Arduino microcontroller, water quality sensors, and a wireless network connection module. It detects water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and electrical conductivity in real-time and disseminates the information in graphical and tabular formats to relevant stakeholders through a web-based portal and mobile phone platforms. The experimental results show that the system has great prospect and can be used to operate in real world environment for optimum control and protection of water resources by providing key ac- tors with relevant and timely information to facilitate quick action taking. Keywords Wireless Sensor Networks, Lake Victoria Basin, Gateway, Sensor Nodes