Accurate detection of newly discovered pollutants is essential for maintaining the quality and safety of water, due to the substantial hazards they pose of great concern to living kingdom. Compact and affordable sensors that may be deployed in the field provide opportunities for identifying contaminants at their source and enabling comprehensive monitoring and regulation of water quality. Regrettably, the availability of these sensors and the potential applications for them continue to be restricted. This Perspective critically examines emerging pollution detecting technology. The main barriers to adoption of these technologies include high costs, unstable functioning, real-world implementation issues, and insufficient stakeholder input in sensor development. This Perspective analyses current sensing technologies for contamination detection by critically examining them. It also examines the main obstacles to these technologies’ mainstream adoption. High costs, unpredictable performance, real-world deployment issues, and stakeholder involvement in sensor development are among these problems. Overall, these obstacles ultimately hinder the successful implementation and adoption of these technologies on a larger scale. In order to understand the outstanding scientific hurdles, which requires to be resolved before implementing these tools in practical scenarios, we showcase unique sensing systems and examine crucial strategies for overcoming these obstacles. More precisely, this involves improving the ability to detect and distinguish substances, increasing the longevity and effectiveness, and optimizing the functionality in real-world water scenarios. This chapter also discusses other important factors, which promotes collaborations between academia and industry, maximizing the value of data through data sharing initiatives, and encouraging workforce development. All of these factors are discussed in detail. The Perspective provides a comprehensive framework that may be utilized for the construction, modification, and deployment of water quality sensors with the objective of quickly and accurately detecting, examining, monitoring, and managing pollution.