Grant: Alliance Grants

Advancements in information and communication technologies are enabling cities to manage infrastructure and services more intelligently. A promising area of smart city development is improving the capabilities of monitoring and controlling drinking water infrastructure. Delivery of safe and high-quality drinking water is an essential public service. However, there is limited real-time monitoring of the water distribution networks' edges or customer water quality, ultimately where the water is used, and quality matters the most. Water quality in distribution systems has been a pervasive challenge for water systems management, with inadequate monitoring leading to untimely detection of short-term contamination events and water quality deterioration or contamination. This project aims to address challenges with maintaining water quality in distribution systems by developing wireless water quality sensors for monitoring at service connections (i.e. connection to a home or at the customer's point of use). This technology will enable utilities to respond to water quality issues faster and with greater spatial information. Furthermore, monitoring data at customer use points will increase customer assurance in the delivered water quality. The project also looks to leverage large amounts of monitored data to develop AI models that would aid in tighter control of the water treatment processes. The developed models will focus on reducing chlorine dosing to limit the formation of potentially harmful byproducts while ensuring that sufficient chlorine is present to protect public health.