WADI

ended

The overall objective of WADI project is to contribute to the reduction of losses in water transmission systems and decrease the related energy consumption required for the process. WADI aims to develop an airborne water leak detection surveillance service to provide water utilities with adequate information on leaks in water infrastructure outside urban areas, thus enabling the utility to promptly repair them. The project idea relies on innovative concept of coupling optical remote sensing and their application on two complementary aerial platforms, i.e. manned and unmanned, typically used for distinctive purposes in infrastructure performance observation. The former is being used in long-distance monitoring whereas the latter in ‘particular’ areas observation, i.e. those with a limited/difficult physical access or requiring closer monitoring upon earlier detection of some anomalies in aircraft missions. Following the determination of cameras’ optimized wavelengths (suitable particularly for water leaks detection), the WADI technology will be applied in an operational environment represented by two pilot sites, i.e. in France (Provence region, case of water supply mains) and Portugal (Alqueva, case of multi-purpose mains serving irrigation, water supply, and hydro power). The WADI proposal addresses the challenge of building a water (and energy) efficient and climate change resilient society by integrating the concept of ecosystem services through the recovery of up to 50% of the water lost at a cost which is lower by an order of magnitude than the cost of terrestrial techniques – e.g. 50-200 EUR/km for airborne technology vs. 1,000-5,000 EUR/km for ground techniques. The project includes legal aspects assessment (related to data protection and regulatory standards for use of UAV), market analysis and strategy along with the corresponding business plan and a dissemination plan that addresses key stakeholders.