Real - time in - network distribution system monitoring to improve operational efficiency

Real-time in-network distribution system monitoring to improve operational efficiency Water distribution infrastructure worldwide is aging, resulting in increasing failures and underscoring the need for real-time monitoring to avoid interruption of an essential service. In this research an end-to-end integrated hardware and software system was developed for monitoring, analyzing, and modeling large urban water distribution systems in real time. During the ongoing development of this system, three main goals were achieved. First, a low-cost wireless sensor network was applied for high-data-rate, on-line monitoring of hydraulic and water quality parameters within a large urban water distribution network. Second, remote detection of leaks and pipe bursts was enabled with sophisticated data-mining algorithms. Third, real-time pressure and flow measurements from the sensor network were assimilated into hydraulic models that were used to improve state estimation for the network. In the two years since it was launched, the Wireless Water Sentinel project in Singapore has demonstrated great potential to improve the operational efficiency of the water supply system.