Melbourne Water has developed a pipe protection and air monitoring device to help protect its infrastructure network and provide information on air quality.
Developed in collaboration with the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and Green Technology Services, the device is Internet-of-Things-enabled and has the ability to alert Melbourne Water to any corrosion in its pipes and tanks. It is also fitted with an air particle counter to help the EPA monitor air quality and examine the impact of smoke from bushfires.
Beginning this month, approximately 200 of the devices will reportedly be installed across the utility’s water pipe network.
Melbourne Water’s Russell Riding said that the devices will be fitted inside existing corrosion protection stations positioned alongside the utility’s main transfer.
“This system will alert our asset managers if any issues with the operation of the corrosion protection systems occur,” Riding said.
“This will allow us to get to the affected site quickly and make the necessary repairs sooner, removing hundreds of time-consuming manual inspections we currently perform across our network.”
EPA air quality scientist Gavin Fisher said the project would explore new ways of collecting air quality data and information on the impact of pollution in Melbourne.
“Before this innovation we’ve been limited in the ways and places we can collect air quality information,” Fisher said.
“This is an exciting and unique collaboration with Melbourne Water. We’ve obviously partnered on water issues before but not on air issues.”