Successful Water Leak Detection and Audit Methods

Every drop of clean water is precious. Unfortunately, 30–50% of water is lost through aging infrastructure. And lost water equals lost revenue to the water service supplier. Water is lost through leaks and cracks in pipes and their fit tings. Since most infrastructure is underground, it is virtually impossible to visually determine the location of these leaks unless the water has reached the surface (causing ponding and sink holes, structural damage, buckling pavement, etc.), and the exact location may be indeterminate. Leak detection requires special technologies that allow inspectors to precisely determine the location and severity of pipeline leaks. This is a field that continues to grow and advance by utilizing both established technology and by adopting emerging methods.

LEAK DETECTION METHODS
Acoustic detection remains the primary means of detecting and locating pipeline leaks. The method of acoustic leak detection is described as “the systematic method of using listening equipment to survey the distribution system, identify leak sounds, and pinpoint the exact locations of hidden underground leaks.” Water escaping under high pressure from a pipe leak or crack makes a distinct rushing or hissing sound that can carry considerable distance along 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 sense, the pipe acts as a medium for transmitting sound. In doing so, it can act like the strings on a guitar, vibrating with different pitches for different pipe lengths, diameters, and materials. Small diameter metal pipes carry sound the greatest distance, up to 1,000 linear feet, while large diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes can carry sound only 100 feet.

The listening devices used to detect this sound come in various operational modes. They can be mobile or fixed, direct or indirect, external or internal, or transit data via radio or utilize manual download into laptop computers. There are mobile acoustic sensors that are manually operated or run along the pipe segment on wheels. In either case, the sensors consist of ground microphones that listen below the surface as the operator walks along the pipe segment. As he operates his sensor, the signal will get louder as he zeroes in on its location. There are also permanently mounted units in fixed locations along the pipe network. Accuracy is typically between 3–4 feet—more than sufficient to allow digging operations to expose and repair the leak. The use of mobile devices can be hampered by local environment and engineered structures. Sound at the surface can be muffled by deep soil, thick roadway pavement, or heavy local traffic.

Professional Water Leak Detector

PQWT-CL300.3M Pipe Water Leak Detector is a professional instrument for water leakage from water supply companies, heating companies, municipal construction companies and property companies. They are mainly used to find and determine the location of leakage points of water supply pipeline, and they can also be used to detect the leakage of other pressure piping systems. When the fluid in pipeline erupts through leakage source due to the pressure, the noise produced by the impact on internal wall will spread along the pipeline or along the buried layer medium to the ground, and the instrument determines the leakage source through the amplification of leakage noise and the analysis of the spectrum signal.

Case Share:

The address is Pune, a city close to Mumbai. It’s the water pipe leaking

The buried depth of the pipeline is about 0.5m,  the community is still relatively new, the pipeline is very clear, the spectrum analysis used by the customer first, the abnormal sound is relatively large, and the spectrum of the leaked area is also very abnormal.  The last leak is 500 liters / hour.

For more details, please contact PQWT Team .

info@pqwtcs.com

www.pqwtdetector.com