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	Podcast:		Nine To Noon
	Episode:		How flushable sensors could help clean up Auckland's beaches
	Category:		News & Politics
	Duration:		00:11:30
	Publish Date:		2026-02-03 20:35:00
	Description:		Auckland's beachgoers well know the frustration of being told to keep out of the water after heavy rain due to wastewater overflow. But researchers at Auckland University have been piloting flushable sensors designed to detect underground sewer faults. The sensors are about the size of a USB stick, made from plant plastic and use ultra-high radio frequency to allow them to be detected as they move through the networks. With some 8000 to 9000 sewer pipes under Aucklanders' feet, the sensors can help find misconnections, where wastewater pipes are wrongly connected to stormwater or where there's a blockages in sewer pipes causing an overflow. Two field trials have already been completed with Auckland Council and Watercare in Browns Bay. Kathryn's joined by lead researcher Dr Wei-Qin Zhuang, at the University's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
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