New system automatically ensures quality of drinking water

The pilot plant for evaluating optimised control strategies in drinking water networks enables digital online monitoring during ongoing supply operation In a large-scale international collaborative research project, the Technische Universität Ilmenau has developed a system for automated monitoring and quality assurance of drinking water during ongoing supply operations. The digital online monitoring system detects impurities in the water in the pipes and initiates their cleaning in an emergency. The approach of developing a model that integrates measurement and optimization has never been realized before anywhere in the world. In Germany, the drinking water supply system transports large quantities of water from the respective waterworks to private households or commercial customers. But many pipes are now 60 years old or older - contamination of the drinking water cannot be ruled out. And water quality is threatened by something else as well: In recent decades, water consumption has declined while the supply network has remained unchanged in size. The drinking water stays longer in the pipes - a deterioration of its quality is the result.