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These sensors allow to view and monitor data practically in real time to study pressure transients that could cause breaks in the network
This project, funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the NextGen Funds, is led by Aquatec and has the participation of Cetaqua-Water Technology Centre and Aigües de Barcelona
Pressure transients pose a challenge for the operation of water networks, since they can generate fatigue in the pipes and cause long-term breaks. In order to predict and prevent incidents, the TransmitWater project, funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Next Generation Funds of the European Union, has recently installed sensors to monitor one of the most important drinking water transport and distribution systems in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
These high-frequency pressure measurement sensors, installed at different points in the water network and at the outlet of pumping stations in the city, can take pressure records up to 120 times per second and display data almost in real time.
The TransmitWater project seeks to develop an SSD (Decision Support System) supported by information from sensors, machine learning and other input data from the network. This system will help drinking water service operators detect the areas with the highest probability of breaks due to sudden pressure variations in sectors of the network and evaluate what measures are most convenient to reduce water transients.
Ultimately, the tool seeks to help move towards a more efficient operation of the network by reducing water losses, breaks and service interruption.
“Thanks to the technological advances that will be developed during this project, operators will be able to have the necessary information to know which sections of the network have the greatest mechanical fatigue and therefore are most likely to suffer incidents in the future, as well as an estimate of the amount of possible incidents in said sections, which will allow them to carry out actions to minimise the risk and thus better manage their assets,” says Franco Crivello, Project Manager at Cetaqua and expert in innovation applied to distribution networks.
The TransmitWater project is a Public-Private Partnership Project that is scheduled to last three years. It is led by Aquatec and has the participation of Aigües de Barcelona and Cetaqua-Water Technology Centre.
This publication is part of the Public-Private Partnership project TRANSient Management & mITigation solution for WATER utilities (TransmitWater) CPP2022-009697, funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/ PRTR.
