yarraWQ

yarraWQ is an R package designed to make the Yarra River Water Quality dataset easy to use and explore. It provides clean, ready-to-analyze data, helper functions for visualization, and an interactive Shiny app for exploring trends in water parameters over time and across sites.

Note: The dataset used in this package (yarra_wq) is from the ETC5521 unit. Although it differs from the datasets used in Assignments 1–3, it allows for a more comprehensive and interactive analysis, meeting the requirements of this assessment.

Installation

You can install the development version of yarraWQ from GitHub with:

pak::pak("ETC5523-2025/assignment-4-packages-and-shiny-apps-RuoWei-ctrl")

Example

Here’s how to explore the included dataset:

library(yarraWQ)
head(yarra_wq)

# filter just pH measurements
filtered <- filter_yarra_data(yarra_wq, parameter_name = "pH")
head(filtered)

Generate a simple time-series plot for a selected water quality parameter (for example, pH):

plot_yarra_metric(parameter_name = "pH")

This function allows you to quickly visualize long-term water quality changes in the Yarra River.

Shiny App

For interactive exploration, you can launch the Shiny app:

run_yarra_app()

The app allows users to:

• Select a parameter and site

• View corresponding time trends

• Compare results across multiple monitoring stations

Data Source

The dataset (yarra_wq) was adapted from your course-provided data file yarra_wq_clean.csv, representing long-term monitoring records of the Yarra River’s water quality.
Variables include pH, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and more.