KE-SA Collaborative Research Project on Water Pipeline Leakage Detection and Prediction and Smart Metering for the years 2018-2022.

On 5th May 2023, Strathmore University hosted a program close-out workshop for a Model of Water Pipeline Leakage Detection and Prediction aimed at developing a smart metering system for monitoring the use of water in residential and commercial establishments in order to minimize wastage. The hybrid workshop was attended by representatives from South Africa’s University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Technical University of Kenya(TUK), and Strathmore University.

The demand for water has been increasing yet, because of climate change, its supply has been diminishing. At the point of use, university water can be wasted through irresponsible practices as well as leakages due to worn-out and malfunctioning facilities. This is the case in homes, hotels, offices, and universities. The collaborative project objectives were to Develop a device for metering water at the point of use, develop a cloud-based system for analyzing the metered data in order to identify and classify usage patterns and integrate the cloud-based system with a messaging system to support sending alerts to users whenever thresholds are exceeded.

One of the Key Speakers of the workshop, Professor Paul Kogeda, PI in South Africa for the collaborative project said, “ In South Africa, the amount of water which results to wastage and leakage is 40% of clean water that is being produced. Through this project, we want to ensure that we conserve the environment, improve the economy and reduce water wastage through detection in our water pipelines.” Professor Kogeda has a wealth of experience and Knowledge and experience in the Internet of Things(IoT), 5G/6G networks management, and data science.

The workshop also reflected on the project’s progress and acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the individuals involved. Other Speakers at the Workshop included Dr. Vitalis Gavole, PI in Kenya for the collaborative project; Daniel Machanje, Doctoral Fellow, SCES; Eunice Manyasi, SCES; Agnes Waithera, Research Services Ofice; and Isack Isika Technical University of Kenya(TUK). These experts provided insights into the proactive conservation of water resources and innovative ways of smart water metering setups.

Discussing the next steps

Looking forward, the team identified potential avenues for further research, including the Idea of having Smart Cities through sustainability, quality of Life, and efficiency; future research opportunities in Water usage technologies, environmental initiatives, public transportation, and energy-saving and producing technologies.

The article was written by Kevin Mwangi.