Project Challenge �Cities around the world are dealing with the compounding challenges of aging infrastructure and climate change. This manifests as issues such as leaky sewer pipes, chronic flooding, and geotechnical failures. Many of these issues are related to the subsurface environment that plays many critical roles for cities but for which there is a lack of real-time information. Moreover, communities that are socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or of racial minorities have been more exposed to these environmental hazards.
Leveraging Existing Fiber-Optic Cables to Identify and Manage Urban Environmental Hazards
Pilot Location – Pittsburgh PA
NSF Award ID: 2228314
PI: Tieyuan Zhu, Penn State
Co-PI: Lauren McPhillips, Penn State
Co-PI: Zhen Lei, Penn State
Senior Personnel: David Himes, Penn State Pittsburgh Center
2022 Civic Innovation Challenge
Pilot Vision
- The goal of the stage 2 project is to work with the civic and community partners in Pittsburgh to develop and validate a fiber-optic sensing technology for monitoring hazards: sewer leaks, flooding, landslides, and sinkholes.
- The new technology could enhance the early warning and management capabilities of decision-makers, helping them to be more “aware” of the interaction of stormwater and geohazards and extreme weather before costly failures occur (e.g., stormwater leakage, flooding, landslides).
- If successful, this technology can be implemented beyond Pittsburgh to improve monitoring of water infrastructure and geohazards, enabling targeted, cost-effective and equitable management of water resources and geohazards in other cities.
Civic Partners:
- Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority
- City of Pittsburgh
- DQE Communications Inc
Research Partners:
- Penn State Pittsburgh Center
- CMU – Metro21
Research Questions
We aim to develop and validate a fiber-optic sensing system capable of economically providing scalable, real-time information on vibrations from subsurface and surface hazards with sub-meter resolution level.
- Identify communities and community needs including geo-environmental hazards that are of great concern and impacts
- Identify prospective focal sites for the pilot project that are representative and equitable and with access to fiber-optic cables.
- What’s the availability of existing data/information for validating the new technology?