Patent ID: 8362919

Claim:
An apparatus for providing a warning of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination by sensing and communicating in an existing buried water pipeline without excavation wherein water is in the water pipeline and wherein a fire hydrant is connected to the existing buried water pipeline, comprising: a discrete sensor unit that senses at least one property of the fluid to provide a warning of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination and produces in the water pipeline a warning signal of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination related to said property, said property comprising a biological property or a chemical property, means for introducing said discrete sensor unit into the water pipeline through the fire hydrant, a discrete receiver unit for receiving said warning signal related to said property, means for introducing said discrete receiver unit into the water pipeline through the fire hydrant, a control, said control producing an output function that provides a warning of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination, and a communication system for transmission of said signal related to said property warning of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination, said communication system transmitting said signal related to said property warning of unauthorized contamination or accidental contamination from said receiver to said control.