Summary:

Estimates of water leakages in distribution systems in Cyprus are very high and in some towns such as Paphos, they are estimated to be more than 40% of the total water consumption of the town. This amount of water loss is crucial in times of low rainfall in the island. This project aims to use combined new technologies for the detection and monitoring of water leakages which are negatively affecting the national water reserves. This research proposal concentrates in rural and semi-rural areas, where main water pipe networks connect different areas between them. The innovative aspect of the Project is that for the first time, state-of-the-art technologies will be combined for monitoring water networks through the use of Global Positioning System, Radar Scanners, Satellite Remote Sensing and Geophysics. The data will be entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS), for the further spatial analysis. Multispectral analysis and vegetation indices using remote sensing satellite images will be used as they can be associated with water pipe leakage detection. Moreover ground geophysical surveys can provide high resolution subsurface images mapping areas of possible water leakages. The use of satellite remote sensing is ideal in Cyprus, due to the high number of cloud-free images all over the year.

Consortium:

• CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (Coordinator: D.G.Hadjimitsis)
• WATER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
• FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY (FORTH), HELLAS
• FREDERICK RESEARCH CENTRE
• SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY

Website: cyprusremotesensing.com/waterleaks