This is where a robust action plan comes in handy. It starts with actionable steps to quantify leaks in your network, identify the recoverable leak amount, and defining the right interventions to tackle those leaks.

Let’s talk about the most challenging part for most leak managers: identifying the right interventions for water losses reduction.

If we take a more holistic approach, we’d find four main “phases” for dealing with leaks: prevention, awareness, locating, and finally fixing those leaks.

Let's dive deeper into each of those phases and explore how to deal with leaks in each phase ↓

Prevent: do whatever you can to stop leaks from happening

Starting with Prevent; the first step for managing leakages is to stop their occurrence in the first place. This includes regular inspections of network assets, renewing aging infrastructure, managing pressure, and optimizing the network.

However, even with new installations, there's a risk of pipe failures if not done correctly. The quality control of new installations on the network needs to be in place to ensure that a leak-free network is produced. Pressure management plays a key role in leak prevention by reducing stress on the pipes.

You can optimize your water system by strategically deploying pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) at critical points in the distribution system. PRVs help in regulating pressure in each of your supply zones to keep it within the needed service levels but avoid excessive pressure.

The outcomes of pressure management are:

👉🏻 Reducing leak rates: water flow rate through pipelines’ punctures is correlated with pressure. When pressure goes high, leak rates increase accordingly. When done correctly, Pressure Management could be one of the most effective interventions to drive down leaks in your network.

👉🏻Managing leak frequency: high pressure deteriorates your pipes quicker, causing new leaks and bursts to emerge. Managing pressure minimizes stress on your infrastructure, reducing the likelihood of future leaks and prolonging the expected lifetime of your assets.

Preventing leaks is good, but not enough. You need to be aware of the leaks as soon as they emerge. How can this be achieved?  Let’s explore it.

Aware: make sure you spot leaks as soon as they emerge

So, when there's a leak in the water system, the first challenge is figuring out where exactly it's happening. This can take quite a while, you know. To better tackle this, water utilities break the network into District Meter Areas (DMAs).

Each DMA is dealt with as a discrete part of the water network where water balance and leak detection activities are carried out through a structured approach. Now, here's where things get interesting.

At night, when most people aren't using water, any changes in flow within these DMAs could be a sign of a leak. Recently, these methods of analysis have become more advanced. Smart innovations like AI and machine learning techniques speed up the process to reduce awareness time.

This approach of proactively looking for leakage is known as active leakage control (ALC). It's all about staying ahead of the game, rather than waiting for leaks to pop up and cause trouble. Because not all leaks make themselves obvious right away. Some can go on for ages without anyone noticing.

Here's an intuitive yet powerful way you can use to narrow down the search for leaks: step-testing. A method where valves are controlled to cut water supply to selected parts of the DMA, then real-time water flow data is monitored to spot changes in water supply patterns.

If water flow drops after closing a certain valve, then this indicates the existence of water losses through pipelines downstream of the closed valve. Repeating this simple process of closing valves and monitoring changes in water flow patterns helps you spot potential sources of water leaks. Then you start preparing your plan to locate these leaks.

Locate: pinpoint & fix the leak before it causes major headaches

Once the area in which a leak occurs is identified, then its exact location needs to be determined. In the past, pinpointing leaks relied heavily on listening for the sound that the leak makes, either with trained ears or specialized equipment.

But now, thanks to the rise of AI and machine learning, leakage managers are taking a more high-tech approach. They're harnessing hydraulic models and enhanced data analysis to locate where leaks are likely to occur.

By collecting real-time data on water pressure, flow rates, and end-consumers’ usage patterns, these models give you valuable insights into how your network behaves. It's like having a digital crystal ball for your water system. And when anomalies pop up, like unusual pressure drops or flow patterns, these models raise red flags fast.

This means you can take quick action to fix leaks before they become major headaches.

Once a potential leak is quantified, advanced artificial intelligence algorithms are used to pinpoint its exact location. These precise insights ensure efficient operation with a short response time and empower you to start the fixing journey.

Once the area in which a leak occurs is identified, then its exact location needs to be determined. In the past, pinpointing leaks relied heavily on listening for the sound that the leak makes, either with trained ears or specialized equipment.

But now, thanks to the rise of AI and machine learning, leakage managers are taking a more high-tech approach. They're harnessing hydraulic models and enhanced data analysis to locate where leaks are likely to occur.

By collecting real-time data on water pressure, flow rates, and end-consumers’ usage patterns, these models give you valuable insights into how your network behaves. It's like having a digital crystal ball for your water system. And when anomalies pop up, like unusual pressure drops or flow patterns, these models raise red flags fast.

This means you can take quick action to fix leaks before they become major headaches.

Once a potential leak is quantified, advanced artificial intelligence algorithms are used to pinpoint its exact location. These precise insights ensure efficient operation with a short response time and empower you to start the fixing journey.

The impact of leak detection

Here comes your big wins. After Fixing the leaks, you’ll start seeing the tangible impact of your effort! And here's what you would gain by tackling water leaks in your water networks:

💧→ Huge water & energy savings
💧→ Reducing your daily operations hassle & making networks management more “manageable”
💧→ A Push forward to meet your regulatory targets for reducing water leaks

Flowless platform helps you streamline the process by prioritizing DMAs based on those factors and using scenario analysis to predict the results of planned interventions. By identifying high-priority areas, you would allocate resources more efficiently, targeting the most critical zones first.

We empower you to develop targeted action plans. Your plans may involve optimization for the network on different levels, including reducing leads, improving supply continuity, and boosting feasibility resulting in enhanced efficiency for the whole water system.

Curious to explore how you can achieve those tangible results. Request a demo and take the first step towards a more efficient and actionable water loss reduction strategy.