Around the world, close to 20 per cent of drinking water is lost to leaks in water networks, and that figure doubles in some developing countries, where resources to repair outdated infrastructure are lacking.
Given the scarcity of drinking water in many parts of the world and the overall costs of water treatment, finding leaks and fixing them has been a long-standing challenge to public utilities.
It is also the topic of one of our most recent research projects, funded by EPFL Middle East.
Detecting and locating leaks in water networks is difficult. Leaks can happen anywhere, and because the water network is buried underground, they often go unnoticed for years. But thanks to today's cheap sensors and computational power, that tide could be poised to turn.
Water utilities companies know approximately how much water they are losing. They find out by comparing the amount of water they collect to the total volume of water consumed, although sometimes this is only approximate due to unmetered consumption and evaporation. Determining where they are losing it, on the other hand, demands an invasive approach involving the deployment of sensors.
Acoustic sensors, for example, have been used to detect leaks based on the way sound propagates along the pipes.
They are well adapted for detecting local leaks but since their range and accuracy depend on the type of pipe and its surrounding geology, their application to entire water distribution networks is limited.
This limitation has been overcome with some success by using data interpretation techniques. Sensors distributed throughout the underground water network can be used to measure the flow rate or pressure in the pipes. Computer models of the city's water network are then used to evaluate these measurements and to attempt to pinpoint the location of the leaks.
But if we have learnt anything about computer models of complex systems, it is that they are always subject to errors.
Furthermore, systems change over time, as anyone who has ever looked into a broken water conduit knows. Minerals accumulate along their walls, altering the flow rate of the water. Models that are designed for systems assuming that they are well characterised can, therefore, be way off the mark.
At EPFL's Applied Computing and Mechanics Lab in Switzerland, we are using new sensing and data analysis techniques to come up with a cost-effective and efficient procedure to locate leaks, so they can be narrowed in on and repaired with minimal intervention.
Obviously, inaccurate models do a poor job at analysing accurate measurements. To avoid falling into this trap, we pursue an alternative approach: out of a large number of leak scenarios, we look for those that can be falsified because they are not compatible with the data that our sensors provide.
To do this, we first generate a multitude of computer models of the distribution network we are interested in, each with slightly different pipe properties and leak locations.
Then we simulate the flow through each of these virtual water networks - from the waterworks to households, shops and factories - and find the winning population of candidates by elimination, or falsification, of the models that perform poorly.
In the coming years, we will focus on developing tools to help us select locations for sensors that are optimal with regard to the information they provide. A great deal of time will be spent on the nitty gritty of making the computational work tractable on today's computers. And once all of the development work is completed, we will test our approach on real cities, potentially in Switzerland and in the UAE.
Our focus goes beyond urban water distribution networks. Pipelines that carry pressurised liquids such as oil and toxic chemicals can also leak and pose a threat to health, safety and the surrounding environment. Detecting and fixing leaks more quickly will therefore allow us to make better use of, and protect, the natural resources we rely on.
Professor Ian Smith is director of the Applied Computing and Mechanics Laboratory at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km