From UCI
It's not the first damage from an earthquake that would leap to mind. But a significant temblor could knock out water supplies by damaging underground pipes. And now engineering researchers say they're ready to install a prototype device that will monitor water pipes to let authorities know swiftly and accurately where and how damage occurs after a seismic or other calamitous event. The devices, which listen in on and detect vibrations in pipes, will be installed in a mile square area and hopes are to expand it to 10 square miles. Pipeline breaks, which U.S. officials say occurred almost a quarter million times annually, not only spill billions of gallons of water, they also could disrupt or halt supplies, especially in an emergency. The detection devices need further advances, of course, as their developers work out issues with power supply and data transmission capacity.
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