Grant: Strategic Projects - Group
University of British Columbia
$84,000.00
Online monitoring of distribution systems - Investigating water quality failure events
FY 2009-10
Summary
Motivation for the research stems from the recognition of the fact that safe and secure water supplies are vital for the health and prosperity of Canadians. The proposal addresses the major target area "Safety and Security" with a special focus on reliable water quality "event detection". The main objective of the proposed research is to detect and classify (diagnose) water quality failure events by developing, implementing and finally integrating an intelligent online monitoring system into existing water distribution networks. The proposed system will be capable of detecting and classifying the cause of water quality failure, based on streams of data obtained from embedded microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) sensors and operational SCADA systems. The major technical contributions of this research will be presented in five phases: (1) study hydraulic connectivity
in distribution system and subsequent effects on water quality; (2) develop a prototype software system for an improved detection and diagnosis of a water quality failure event; (3) develop automated updating mechanism using regular monitoring data (obtained from historical database) as well as newly collected data obtained from LOC sensors (specifically designed and fabricated in this project); (4) develop online water quality monitoringprocedures, and (5) develop a protocol for system integration. This research will provide an integrated system for utilities to detect and diagnose potential water quality events by identifying the cause of anomalous conditions identified from online sensory and operational data. This will minimize the cost for system operation and maintenance since human intervention for measurement will be minimized.
Long term objective of this research is to enhance the reliability of water quality monitoring and consequently the confidence of operators and their ability to manage the distribution system without compromising its integrity. For the successful execution of this project a multidisciplinary team is assembled that consists of a group of four researchers who have diverse and in-depth experience in water quality modeling and monitoring, soft computing and intelligent systems, sensor and LOC technology, and data acquisition.
Program
Strategic Projects - Group
Recipient
Location
British Columbia, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
381199-2009
Name nom
Sadiq, Rehan
Department département
Okanagan - Engineering, School of
Organization id
2
Institution établissement
University of British Columbia
Province en
British Columbia
Province fr
Colombie-Britannique
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2009
Competition year année de concours
2009
Award amount
84000
Program id
STPGP
Program nane en
Strategic Projects - Group
Program name fr
Projets stratégiques - De groupe
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
1046
Committee name en
Strategic Projects Selection Panel - Safety and Security
Committee name fr
Comité de sélection des projets stratégiques - Sécurité
Area of application code
702
Area of application group en
Transportation systems and services
Area of application group fr
Services et systèmes de transport
Area of application en
Water
Area of application fr
Maritime
Research subject code
1501
Research subject group en
Environmental engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie de l'environnement
Research subject en
Water quality, pollution
Research subject fr
Qualité de l'eau, pollution
Partie
1
Nb partie
3
Application title
Online monitoring of distribution systems - Investigating water quality failure events
Keyword
NA
Application summary
Motivation for the research stems from the recognition of the fact that safe and secure water supplies are vital for the health and prosperity of Canadians. The proposal addresses the major target area "Safety and Security" with a special focus on reliable water quality "event detection". The main objective of the proposed research is to detect and classify (diagnose) water quality failure events by developing, implementing and finally integrating an intelligent online monitoring system into existing water distribution networks. The proposed system will be capable of detecting and classifying the cause of water quality failure, based on streams of data obtained from embedded microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) sensors and operational SCADA systems. The major technical contributions of this research will be presented in five phases: (1) study hydraulic connectivity
in distribution system and subsequent effects on water quality; (2) develop a prototype software system for an improved detection and diagnosis of a water quality failure event; (3) develop automated updating mechanism using regular monitoring data (obtained from historical database) as well as newly collected data obtained from LOC sensors (specifically designed and fabricated in this project); (4) develop online water quality monitoringprocedures, and (5) develop a protocol for system integration. This research will provide an integrated system for utilities to detect and diagnose potential water quality events by identifying the cause of anomalous conditions identified from online sensory and operational data. This will minimize the cost for system operation and maintenance since human intervention for measurement will be minimized.
Long term objective of this research is to enhance the reliability of water quality monitoring and consequently the confidence of operators and their ability to manage the distribution system without compromising its integrity. For the successful execution of this project a multidisciplinary team is assembled that consists of a group of four researchers who have diverse and in-depth experience in water quality modeling and monitoring, soft computing and intelligent systems, sensor and LOC technology, and data acquisition.
