New Tech Reduces Arlington's Water Waste

Pure Technologies deployed a robotic crawler to inspect the inside of a 24-inch water main running beneath Stadium Drive between Division and Abram streets

Each year, more than 2 billion gallons — or 12 percent — of Arlington's treated drinking water is wasted before it arrives at homes and businesses.

Some is lost when water mains break because of weather changes, shifting ground or construction mistakes. Those problems are easy to spot, because water bubbles to the surface of the street. But it can be harder to detect smaller leaks in the miles of underground water lines and thousands of valves hidden beneath Arlington's roadways.

After years of encouraging residential and commercial customers touse water wisely, Arlington is turning to infrastructure improvements designed to cut waste. Reducing the amount of water lost before it reaches customers by just 1 percent would save the city $300,000 each year, Water Utilities DirectorBuzz Pishkursaid. That means lower costs to be passed on to customers.

"Because we will reduce the number of outages and the duration of these outings, our costs will be reduced through more timely repairs and reduction of emergency situations. Quite frankly, I believe this is what our customers pay us to do," Pishkur said. "We are focusing on doing more for our customers, not to our customers."

This year, the Water Utilities Department launched several initiatives aimed at reducing water waste and keeping the system strong. Plans include replacing aging and brittle concrete water lines, manually inspecting thousands of water main valves and using technology, including a robot equipped with a high-resolution camera and special sensors, to detect leaks and flaws in pipe that can't be seen from above ground.

Help from a robot

Earlier this month, a contracted crew from Pure Technologies deployed a robotic crawler to inspect the inside of a 24-inch water main running beneath Stadium Drive between Division and Abram streets. The city, which will soon widen Stadium Drive near the railroad tracks, wants to determine whether the entire section of the 30-year-old water main should be replaced at an estimated $1 million or spot repairs could be made for less.

The remote-controlled robot crawled along at 40 feet per minute, beaming back high-definition images of the mortar coating inside the pipe and data from electromagnetic sensors that detected weakness or disrepair in the steel bars that wrap the main.

"If we can show based on inspections there is nothing wrong with the line, that is a big savings in cost," Dean Yanagi, a Water Utilities civil engineer.

It was only the second time Arlington had used the technology for an inspection, which cost the city about $169,000 for Stadium Drive. Previously, the city determined whether to replace a main based on its age and maintenance history, Yanagi said.

Source: Star-Telegram

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Taxonomy

• Sludge Separation
• Technology
• Water Management