Testing Smart Water Tech Down Under
The New South Wales Smart Sensing Network aims to position NSW as a leader in sensing technology. Read how water utilities are collaborating in Sydney to solve the global challenge of water leakage and supply disruption.
The New South Wales Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) was established in 2016 with funding from the NSW State Government to position the state as a leader in sensing technology. As part of the initiative, a $3 million project, funded by Sydney Water, along with other water utilities: Hunter Water, SA Water, Melbourne Water, Intelligent Water Networks (Victoria), Queensland Urban Utilities, and the NSW state government, was launched in 2019 to solve the global challenge of water leakage and supply disruption. One of the initiatives of the project is an acoustic sensing pilot in Sydney.
Acoustic sensing pilot in Sydney
NSSN, Sydney Water, SA Water, and UTS are collaborating on an acoustic sensing pilot in Sydney that aims to proactively reduce leaks and breaks in the water network using cutting-edge acoustic technology. As part of the project, SA Water has deployed its state-of-the-art acoustic sensors within Sydney Water’s CBD water main network.
Since their installation in 2017, SA Water’s acoustic sensors have helped detect around half of all water main leaks and breaks in Adelaide’s CBD, enabling them to be proactively repaired. This minimizes the interruption to customers and commuters while reducing operational costs. In Sydney, these sensors monitor a total of 13 kilometers of pipes across the CBD with the aim of predicting leaks and being able to do preventative maintenance: important as in Sydney’s current drought the dry soil is exacerbating water main breaks.
In return for contributing to leak detection in Sydney, SA Water will be able to increase the range of data it has to baseline acoustic patterns against, and further fine-tune their algorithms used to monitor leakage in Adelaide’s CBD network. Overall, Sydney Water estimates that in three years, this new technology will help reduce major breaks by 50% in the CBD.
Other technologies tested
In addition to acoustic sensing technology, a range of different technologies will be tested under the wider $3 million project, including:
- Quantum sensing: The researchers have created a unique soil profile and hydrology model around a water pipe that can be integrated into a quantum gravitation model
- Distributed in-pipe sensing: Ocean-grade fibre optics and sonar hydrophone arrays are being tested to detect and locate leaks in large water mains
- Data analytics: Using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other modelling techniques, predictive models for pipe failure are being created
- LiDAR, soil moisture, and corrosion: The project uses LiDAR data of surface elevations collected by aeroplanes and drones to calculate soil moisture to enhance pipe corrosion prediction tools
The take-out
Partnerships are key to solving global challenges in the water sector.
Join the conversation on the following LinkedIn groups: Urban Water Security, Our Future Water, Circular Water Economy, Blue and Green, and Nature-Based Solutions
