AWWA ACE70960

A number of U.S. and United Kingdom stakeholders are considering how the future of buried water infrastructure can be radically advanced to provide a complete distribution system capable of monitoring and communicating its own condition. The resulting research project, known as Smart Pipes, is attempting to achieve this ideal through incorporation of advanced technologies into common pipe materials and fittings: from micro-machined sensors to energy harvesting, all incorporated into a framework utilizing water distribution pipelines as a complete and robust data network. In discussing these technologies, and associated development of prototype systems, this paper concludes that the simple pipe of ancient times can be transformed into a self-monitoring system, capable not only of communicating vital data to water providers, but also of providing a basis for future self-regulating water distribution systems. Includes table, figures.