Enabling sustainable sensing in adverse environments

Water infrastructure has been degrading on a national scale in the U.S. for years. Much of this degradation is caused by massive leakage in aging water mains. Water is a critical, and finite resource, early identification of these leaks would not only save cities millions of dollars in revenue but also safeguard our limited natural resources. Current methods of leak detection are either too costly, unscalable, or only feasible in the short-term. We propose using environmentally powered embedded adaptive sensors to provide cost-effective water-monitoring infrastructure that can operate maintenance free for the lifetime of a water main. In this poster we will present our early monitoring system, and initial results and analysis from our current deployment in the Clemson University water distribution network. We also present future directions and key research questions.