The City of Greensboro is the third largest city by population in the state of North Carolina where it is home to approximately 270,000 residents. The city’s Water Resources Department treats and delivers an average of about 32 million gallons of water per day and has provided its customers with safe, clean water for almost 100 years.
Greensboro turned to LeakFinderRT™— a Windows-based acoustic leak detection system developed and provided by Mississauga based Echologics LLC, a leading developer of advanced acoustic based technologies for water loss management, leak detection, and pipe condition assessment.
Leaks Pinpointed
Since it began using LeakFinderRT, Greensboro’s Water Resources Department has pinpointed more than 50 leaks throughout its service area, which includes roughly 1500 miles of pipe and covers approximately 42 square miles, without breaking ground or disrupting service. Greensboro requested Echologics to demonstrate LeakFinderRT on the troubled section of its distribution network. Less than two minutes after the sensors were attached to the appurtenances, the system located the leak, which was responsible for losing water at an increasing rate of 2-5 gallons per minute (gpm), on a section of 6” inch cast iron pipe; service crews excavated the site and repaired the leak to prevent further loss of water.
LeakFinderRT’s proprietary sensor and signal conditioning technologies substantially reduce noise and ambient background noise often created by road traffic or pumps, and it works exceptionally well on all pipes irrespective of geometry, material, etc. Its unique ability to accurately detect leaks on pipes of all material is a result of an enhanced correlation function. This dramatically improves its ability to accurately identify and locate narrow-band leak noise, a capability that is ideal for plastic pipes, multiple leak situations, and scenarios where there is a large amount of background noise or where leak sensors have to be closely spaced. Data collection is completely non-invasive, as LeakFinderRT uses standard pipe appurtenances such as hydrants, valves, or direct attachments to the pipe’s outer wall.
“When you look at the cost of a leak, you should not only consider water loss, but also labor, materials and equipment. By adopting LeakFinderRT, we have been able to quickly and non-invasively locate numerous leaks of various sizes in high traffic areas without incurring enormous costs in terms of time and labor we previously experienced when we would have to dig up different locations to find a single leak. The accuracy and efficiency provided by this technology prevents us from having to focus excessive amounts of resources on finding leaks and allows us to concentrate on other projects that can help us to improve the level and quality of service we provide to our customers,” said David Carpenter, Utility Coordinator for Greensboro Water Resources Department.
David Carpenter
Utility Coordinator, City of Greensboro Water Resources Department
These case studies are property of Mueller Co., LLC. For more information about Mueller please visit www.muellerwp.com or call Mueller customer service at 800.423.1323.