The 5G-enabled autonomous ship monitors the water quality in Putuo district. [Photo/zhoushan.cn]

Putuo district in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province has been utilizing a 5G-enabled autonomous ship to help monitor water quality, local media reported recently.

"The ship is installed with analytical instruments and boasts a wider monitoring area so it can check the corners in some riverways," said an official from the Putuo river management office.

Compared to traditional monitoring methods, the autonomous ship is more efficient and can stop at any place as requested for real-time monitoring.

In addition, the system on the ship can display pollution concentration trends in real time and help quickly identify areas with abnormal water quality.

The autonomous ship is mainly used to check rivers' water quality and sewage draining exits.

"As Putuo has constantly raised its requirements on water quality, the district has an increasing demand on water environment monitoring," said the official.

He added that government officials will analyze the results from the ship and discuss solutions to treat waterways with poor water quality.