Introduction
Pipers® are equipped with an acoustic leak detection sensor. While moving through a pipeline, Pipers® continuously record the relatively quiet flow noise, creating a baseline for the measured sound intensity. When a pipeline is leaking, the jet of liquid passing through the crack or hole generates a characteristic hissing or rushing sound that significantly deviates from the baseline noise in a localized region around the leak. Conversely, if there is no change (or only long-term gradual change) in the average sound intensity along the length of the pipeline, no leaks were detected.
Project description
Triple A is a Colombia based water utility that services 673,000 customers through a 3,800 km water supply network. The network experiences an average of 49.5% non-revenue water.
Triple A aims to reduce water loss due to physical leaks in its main pipes by 90% and as part of that endeavor, is working with our partner Revicol to perform leak detection inspections using Pipers®.
The first inspection was performed on the coastal aqueduct main distribution system.
Results
The section in the above figure was inspected and the 16 high confidence leaks are marked with the green, yellow, and red dots. After the INGU Pipers® inspection, Triple A started repairing the leaks and after having repaired only the green marked leaks, the total loss already went from 32.3 to 12.6 L/s.
This is a reduction of 61% in total loss equivalent to 621,260 m3 water (the content of 250 Olympic swimming pools) per year!!
Pipeline specifications
Pipeline Length | 16 km |
Pipeline Diameter | 18 inch |
Pipeline Material | Ductile iron |
Content | Potable water |
Location | Colombia |