Underground Infrastructure - August 2023 - 27

CURRENTLY @ CUIRE
Innovative Technologies for Monitoring
Water Assets
A University of Texas at Arlington
(UTA) civil engineering researcher is
leading a nationwide study to find and
assess innovative technologies for monitoring
water assets.
Mohammad Najafi, a UTA associate
professor of civil engineering, is leading a
$410,000 grant from the Water Research
Foundation.
Other water entities participating in the
funding and project include: DC Water,
Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts,
CDM Smith, Dallas Water Utilities,
Greater Cincinnati Water Works,
Dallas County, Tarrant Regional Water
District, WaterOne, American Water,
WSSC Water, The Great Lakes Water
Authority,
Orange
County
Utilities,
San Diego County Water Authority and
Underground Infrastructure.
" We hope to streamline water asset
monitoring so water utilities can make
timely decisions and optimize their
maintenance activities, " Najafi said. " We
will investigate the utilization of existing
and innovative asset monitoring technologies,
such as drones, sensors, fiber
optics, etc., for both horizontal and vertical
assets. Considerations for both large
and small water utilities will be given. "
The project will perform a comprehensive
literature review on the topic,
hold conferences and webinars among
water utilities and industry leaders, provide
case studies of what is available, and
make recommendations and guidelines
on what to use in the future.
Najafi said the project will identify
gaps in water utility monitoring and make
recommendations to fill those gaps.
" Water monitoring now consists of
using sensors, drones, fiber optics, advanced
metering infrastructure and other
technologies that are on the market and
currently being used, but not by everyone, "
Najafi said. " We hope to issue a best
practices guideline for water entities. "
The project will look at above-ground
water infrastructure, like reservoirs and
dams, as well as below-ground infrastructure
like pipes and mains.
Melanie Sattler, interim chair of the
UTA Department of Civil Engineering,
said Najafi's project will give water entities
better information now and in the future.
" Water monitoring is essential to
provide the resources needed for life and
growth, " Sattler said. " This project does
just that. Knowing how much water you
have is vital to knowing how much water
you'll need in the future. "
Najafi is also director of UTA's
Center for Underground Infrastructure
Research and Education (CUIRE),
where much of his research takes place.
CUIRE is a research, education and
outreach organization and is a part of
UT Arlington's Department of Civil
Engineering. Since its inception, CUIRE
has focused on assembling exceptional
and broad-reaching engineering and
technical talent to address the needs of
underground infrastructure on a regional,
state, national and international scale.
Vinayak Kaushal, a UTA assistant professor
of civil engineering, will serve as
co-principal investigator. Zahra Borhani,
program manager at CUIRE, and Diego
Calderon, a doctoral candidate, are part
of the UT Arlington team for this project.
" We will investigate the utilization of existing and
innovative asset monitoring technologies, such as
drones, sensors, fiber optics, etc., for both horizontal
and vertical assets. Considerations for both large and
small water utilities will be given, " Najafi said.
UndergroundInfrastructure.com | AUGUST 2023 27
http://www.UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Underground Infrastructure - August 2023

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