New Leak Detection Technologies for the field.

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Interested in new and emerging equipment to detect water loss.

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13 Answers

  1. At this point, we have the following to my knowledge:

    Acoustic - Traditional leak detectors, leak  noise correlators, leak loggers; Some use microphones to listen on the pipe wall, others use hydrophones to listen in contact with the water column. There is also an insertable camera with a hydrophone as well form Aquam to not only hear, but see flaws in the pipe.

    Tracer Gas - There are both hydrogen and helium based leak detectors that can detect leaks that don't make sound detectable with acoustic devices.

    Thermal Imaging - Thermal cameras at ground level or satellite can detect if a leak causes temperature differences in the ground.

    Pressure Sensors - Remote pressure sensors can detect changes in distribution system pressure over time for leaks or immediately for bursts. There are remote IoT systems now to monitor  as well as traditional SCADA systems.

    DMA's - District metering can compare water produced to water sold to detect losses that may be leaks. smaller areas can narrow down search by other methods, but does not generally pinpoint.

    Dogs - There are dogs that can be trained to find leaks. I'm not completely sure if they are sniffing for chlorine or flouride, or use a combination of acoustics.

    Analystics - Analytics software can crunch data from all of the above sources to put water loss data on a dashboard to detect, compare, correlate and track water loss data.

    Sewer metering/monitoring  - Monitoring average flow rates in the sewer system with ultrasonic and dopler meters can also indicate leaks that may be infiltrating the sewer systems rather than surfacing.

    My Company provides all of the above from various vendors except search dogs and thermal imaging.

    Mark Beatty, Owner - Utility Technologies, LLC

    www.utility.biz

     

    Manufacturers to look at sixtyfourseconds.com, Sewerin.com Aquampd.com , Kamstrup.com, H2oAnalytics.com, aquarius-spectrum.com, clamponflow.com.

     

  2. David, your profile is still empty so it is difficult to determine what your question may relate too: ie extent of what might be "NEW" to you or "EMERGING" in your company?

  3. At Rezatec we found that direct leak detection by satellite is problematic at best (especially if the leaks are under man-made infrastructure such as concrete, asphalt, etc.).   Instead, we have developed a combination of Geospatial Analysis (to monitor for terrain motion, vegetation intrusion, etc.) and AI  to allow us to assess an entire network for the Likelihood of Failure - which allows the operators to reduce the costs / time required for the actual leak detection.  Details at:  https://www.rezatec.com/services/water-management/pipeline-risk-assessment/

  4. WINT detects and stops leaks at the source using Artificial Intelligence. It alerts you when water is leaking and automatically shuts it off. Intelligent real-time monitoring identifies sources of leaks and waste, reducing your water consumption and preventing damage

    https://wint.ai/

  5. The “acoustic ​detection” method，was widely practised throughout the world. In combination with GIS and flow measurement in distribution(Zoning & DMA), Active leakage detection(ALC), will be the maximum efficiency and effectiveness. 

  6. At LACROIX SOFREL (French Company) we use IoT flow data loggers in order to monitor the flow at each DMA (District Metering Area) and calculate the minimum night flow rates. With that solution connected to a Cloud data server you can detect in anticipation the segment of the water networks where the leaks are beginning. Then you can use acoustic systems to locate the leaks.

  8. Software now exists that will allow for automated alerts when flow patterns do not match anticipated profiles. Usually these can be done without a "big data" approach. Usually we can detect slow leaks quite accurately and then operators can begin to use the other methods mentioned below to isolate the exact location.

  9. In Suez we use 2 technologies. "Idroloc" which uses Helium to detect leaks and the most recent is detection with Satellite imaging (in the UK). check www.suez.com
    Beside that we tried Georadar detection, failed. 
    And know about another tecnology with thermal camera, it seems very effective, but we have never tried it.

  10. Interesting. We track over 4000 innovative and emerging technologies in the water space. There are an amazing amount of new technologies around leak detection from using satellite imaging to pinpoint leaks to advances in acoustic technology. 

    Www.pureterra.com

    or you can contact Isle technologies who have offices around the world. They have multiple options identified in the space. 

    Good Luck!!

    1 Comment

  11. Our agency (City of Sacramento, California) uses leak detection where we listen to specific areas identified to be "problem areas". This effort has been very effective. Approx 95% of leaks discovered using leak detection are on water services Vs Water Mains.

    We are in the process of piloting a leak detection system (Echologics) that is deployed on Fire Hydrants. The cellular devices replace one of the hydrant caps and listens for leaks at off peak / usage hours. We are notified if there is a leak heard along with general area. We would deploy staff to correlate leak in the area identified.

     

  12. Acoustic detection networks have improved with better diagnostics and correlation to pinpoint leak suspects.  Satellite technology could be called emerging though my personal opinion is that it is still not as good as it could be.  There are several companies using machine learning to predict the probability of failure of individual pipes, some incorporate satellite data.  Coupled with systems that evaluate the consequence of pipe breaks, utilities can lay out a strategy for replacing pipe, using leak detection, deploying condition assessment or wait till it breaks decisions.  For critical mains, consideration might be given for pressure/surge monitoring.   A newer technology launches a pressure sensor down the pipe but acoustic monitoring can perform much the same task without concern for tuberculated mains.     

  13. Actually - not sure there is much "emerging" right now.  Most of the available technologies for leak detection have existed for some years - what is "emerging" is that water utilities are finally getting around to using them.   A rule of thumb classification:

    - acoustic detection - leaks have acoustic signatures in pipes and may also cause pressure transients if large and sudden enough;

    - "virtual sensing" - comparing flows and pressures (and sometimes pump energy consumption), both over time and through comparison with a hydraulic model, to detect anomalies against expected levels;

    - crowdsourcing - getting the public to report damp spots in the street;

    - leak and burst risk assessment and prediction, based on background factors such as soil type, pipe age and type, traffic levels near the pipe, construction activity, pipe usage history and so on;

    - in-pipe inspections.

    These approaches are not mutually exclusive.

    Most recently, the addition of artificial intelligence (AI) to many of these techniques has been getting attention, although in reality machine learning (a form of AI) has been used for some years.   What has held back the widespread adoption until now has been more mundane factors like the value of water not justifying the cost of fixing the leak; lack of system instrumentation; and in many places, lack of suitable subdivisions of the water system (eg DMAs) to allow the leak detection task to be systematically broken down area by area.

     

     

     

     

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