Compressed sensing theory for water urban distribution networks monitoring

Old and poorly constructed pipelines, inadequate corrosion protection, poorly maintained valves and mechanical damage are factors contributing to leakage. One effect of water leakage, besides the loss of water resources, is reduced pressure in the supply system. Raising pressures to make up for such losses increases energy consumption. This rise in pressure makes leaking worse and has adverse environmental impacts. Of the many options available for conserving water, leak detection is a logical first step. If a utility does what it can to conserve water, customers will tend to be more cooperative in other water conservation programs, many of which hinge on individual efforts. A leak detection program can be highly visible, encouraging people to think about water conservation before they are asked to take action to reduce their own water use. Leak detection is an opportunity to improve services to existing customers and to extend services to the population not served. In this paper an innovative integrated non-invasive technique for water loss detection is presented, discussed and tested in a real environment. The proposed solution belongs to the class of non-invasive electromagnetic methods, as the ones based on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Different from the latter, whose results need to be carefully interpreted, the proposed one, thanks to innovative model based data processing techniques allows to achieve simpler results.