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Sensors 2011, 11, 7455-7475; doi:10.3390/s110807455 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Smart Pipes—Instrumented Water Pipes, Can This Be Made a Reality? Nicole Metje 1,*, David N. Chapman 1, David Cheneler 2, Michael Ward 2 and Andrew M. Thomas 1,† 1 School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Science, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK; E-Mails: d.n.chapman@bham.ac.uk (D.N.C.); andrewmarkthomas@ (A.M.T.) 2 School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Science, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK; E-Mails: d.cheneler@bham.ac.uk (D.C.); m.c.ward@bham.ac.uk (M.W.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: n.metje@bham.ac.uk; Tel.: +44-121-414-4182; Fax: +44-121-414-3675. † Former Research Fellow. Received: 21 June 2011; in revised form: 21 July 2011 / Accepted: 22 July 2011 / Published: 27 July 2011 Abstract: Several millions of kilometres of pipes and cables are buried beneath our streets in the UK. As they are not visible and easily accessible, the monitoring of their integrity as well as the quality of their contents is a challenge. Any information of these properties aids the utility owners in their planning and management of their maintenance regime. Traditionally, expensive and very localised sensors are used to provide irregular measurements of these properties. In order to have a complete picture of the utility network, che