Chennai Deploys Robotic Crawlers to Inspect Underground Water Pipes

Under the new initiative, robotic crawler cameras will be sent into live pipelines to assess their internal condition without excavating roads. The inspections will help identify leaks, structural damage, contamination sources, clogging and faulty joints -- problems that are often difficult to detect from the surface.

According to the proposal, three different types of robotic systems will be used to inspect pipelines of varying diameters, including small lines of around 50 mm, medium pipelines of about 250 mm, and large water mains and sewer lines measuring up to 1,000 mm and above.

The inspections will be carried out in selected stretches across all 15 zones of Chennai. The robotic units are equipped with high-resolution cameras and laser profiling tools that can record continuous video footage, capture still images and map internal deformations along the length of the pipeline.

Agencies engaged for the work will be required to submit detailed digital inspection reports, including videos, images and defect maps, to support follow-up repair and replacement works.

Gaurav Kumar, Executive Director of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said the Board needed a reliable way to understand what was happening inside ageing pipelines without repeatedly digging up roads.

"The idea is to reduce hassle and save time in detecting the issue," he said, adding that many sections of the city's pipeline network were nearly 40 years old and increasingly vulnerable to internal deterioration.

The decision follows a pilot project conducted in 2023, during which robotic inspections were carried out in two phases covering about 2.5 km of pipelines. The exercise revealed damage in several double-wall corrugated (DWC) pipes made of high-density polyethene, which were subsequently replaced with cast iron pipes to improve longevity in multiple locations.

Encouraged by the results, Metro Water has floated a tender to engage specialised agencies for a two-year period to carry out systematic robotic inspections. The selected agency will be required to maintain a standby robotic system to prevent interruptions and submit regular progress and inspection reports to Metro Water engineers.

Inspection teams are expected to operate for up to 10 hours a day. As per the tender conditions, payments will be linked to the length of pipeline inspected, with separate daily charges for operation and maintenance. The Board expects the technology-driven approach to speed up fault detection, minimise public disruption and improve the overall reliability of Chennai's underground water and sewer infrastructure.

- IANS