Are we entering a brave new world of fast and cost effective water leak detection? I hope so.

 

MIT might have a solution

Leak detection often feels like an inexact science. Divining rods, ultrasonic detectors. They rely on pinpointing something you cannot see and which has a large cost when you get it wrong. 

A new invention from MIT aims to cut out the middle man and go straight to the source, literally. Their latest device is fed directly into the water supply and monitors for leaks right at the source, not from a great distance away like other methods. The device is fed into the pipe through a hydrant and retrieved through a downstream hydrant. Insert it on one end and catch it with a net on the other.

The PipeGuard, as they call it, swims through the pipe with sensors on its tail. These sensors detect a leak as it goes by and marks its location. A leak creates a suction force, or negative pressure in the pipe forcing water out. The pressure is positive on the exterior of the pipe. This suction force is what the PipeGuard is able to detect through membrane sensors.

Check out this cool video demonstrating how it works.

Why is this such a big deal?

Unaccounted for water, also called non-revenue water, has a significant affect on water operations. Each gallon of water treated and moved into the distribution system has a cost. The cost of each gallon billed is increased for each gallon “lost.” This lost “profit” lowers the ability to perform capital improvements, resulting in less efficient operations and/or increased debt payments.

Additionally, each system has an allocation it can’t exceed. Pumping water that earns no revenue may inhibit the system’s ability to serve new customers; lowering the system’s revenue potential. 

Any professional will tell you that reducing non-revenue water is a winning strategy. Tools that can assist a system in performing water-loss studies more efficiently and with less capital expenditure are only going to increase adoption. That is a good thing.