How is Water Line Detection Done & How You Can Save More Water
Every drop of pure water is valuable. Unfortunately, 30–50% of water is wasted due to the outdated infrastructure of pipelines. Furthermore, lost water is as good as lost income for the water service provider. Water is lost due to leaks and cracks in pipelines and their fittings. Because most infrastructure is underground, it is nearly hard to visually establish the site of these leaks unless the water has reached the surface (creating pounding and sinkholes, structural damage, collapsing pavement, and so on), and the exact location may be unknown.
This is where water line leak detection comes into the picture. Waterline leak detection necessitates specialized technology that allows waterline leak detection inspectors to precisely pinpoint the location and severity of pipeline breaches. This field continues to expand and progress by leveraging both established technologies and adopting innovative ways.
What is the importance of water line leak detection?
No-revenue generating water is water that is lost due to leakage, waste, or simple theft and does not produce money for the water supplier since it never reaches its consumers. These can be physical losses of water exiting the system or unaccounted-for water that is not recorded owing to malfunctioning or tampered meters, inadequate accounting and records, or human errors while reading and recording the water system flow meters.
Existing and new technologies are intended to detect and prevent physical water losses. However, these will continue indefinitely until they are discovered. If water line leak detection is not done in time, losses accumulated over long periods can result in irrecoverable losses, even from little leaks. And if water can seep out, pollutants (dirt, bacteria, organics, etc.) can degrade the water’s quality, even leaving it unsafe to drink.
Non-revenue water losses are calculated in the same manner as water provided: volume (gallons or liters) per unit of time (per minute for actual leakage/flow rate or per year for cumulative losses). Water losses in big water supply systems may also be quantified in terms of the water lost per total length (miles or kilometers) of the pipes that comprise the water supply system.
These data are then compared to the water supply flow rates to calculate the percentage of total water lost or otherwise unaccounted for. Water losses will, in general, fluctuate in proportion to the age of the water supply system or the ages of the various subsections of major metropolitan systems. Larger, older cities may include areas that are less than a decade old or more than a century old.
Methods used for water line leak detection:
Waterline leak detection is the most common method of detecting and identifying pipeline breaches. Waterline leak detection is “the methodical way of surveying the distribution system, identifying leak noises, and pinpointing the exact sites of hidden subsurface leaks utilizing listening equipment.” Water escaping under high pressure from a pipe leak or break generates a noticeable rushing or hissing sound that can go a great distance down the length of the pipe itself (in contrast, the loose soil surrounding the pipe in its backfilled trench makes a poor conductor of sound).
In this respect, the pipe serves as a channel for conveying sound. As a result, it can function similarly to guitar strings, vibrating at varying pitches for varied pipe lengths.
Pressure differences are used in secondary water line leak detection procedures. These are monitored by strategically placed flow meters and pressure gauges, which can bracket the position of the leak based on variations in data. For example, if flow rates at the beginning of a pipe length are much greater than at the end, there is likely to be a leak between these two sites.
In addition, pressure decreases compared to the initial operating conditions immediately after installation, indicating the escape of water and subsequent lowering of pressure from its original state. The two technologies can be used with pressure and flow differentials to bracket the leak’s position and mobile acoustic sensors running along the bracketed length to pinpoint its location. Waterline leak detection saves a lot of time and work.
Waterline leak detection audit procedures
The discovery of a leak is only the first step of water line leak detection. A water supply system must have a program of ongoing audits, of which leak detection is merely one aspect, to reduce leakage loss. A full-scale water line leak detection program should be conducted at least once a year, with a thorough study of the leak data for the current audit and all previous audits. In addition, a thorough water line leak detection audit checks the system’s full leaking database for correctness and completeness. This information includes not just leak readings but also indirect leak measures such as customer billing and receipts and a flow meter and pressure gauge readings.
Though often given in the tabular form, water line leak detection audit data is most useful when depicted spatially, with data placed on maps of the water system being audited. A graphic depiction helps identify and isolate trouble areas where leaks may occur much easier. For example, pressure data can produce pseudo-hydrostatic outlines that graphically show areas of low and high pressure. Low-pressure zones are another warning indicator that a leak may be occurring in these regions. Similarly, flow data displayed by two-dimensional graphs might reveal probable leak spots.
Emerging water line leak detection technologies
Waterline leak detection within a customer’s system requires awareness and continuous monitoring rather than visibility. New technologies for water line leak detection enable customers to more precisely locate leaks within their facilities than older techniques of water leak detection, such as spot detectors, which detect leaks at a single site (such as a curbed area under a piece of equipment).
While inexpensive and simple to use, spot detectors can only detect pooled water at limited or low spots. In addition, water that does not come into contact with the probes of the spot detector will not be detected. This device can detect any fluid, not only water, thanks to a non-conductive sensor wire (which prevents shorting out if it comes into touch with a metal surface).
Intelligent cable sensors are only one example of technological advancement. Each new advancement must be meticulously examined for broad utility and specialized applicability. The following factors are used to evaluate new technology:
- The breadth of application and number of uses.
- Ability to adjust sensitivity to different liquid amounts.
- Ability to quickly reset its readings and reestablish its sensing operations.
- Ease of installation.
- Scalability and adjustment to future expansions.
- Ease of integration into the existing control and monitoring system.
Future water line leak detection technology advancements must overcome these obstacles to get approval from both customers and utilities.