AWWA ACE63105

In 2004, the Sahara leak location system wasreintroduced into North America. Sahara is an in-line leak detection tool that identifiesleaks in pipe of any material construction type ranging from 12"(300mm) in diameter andup. This paper discusses the experience that three large Texan water utilities (located inDallas, Wylie, and El Paso) have had with this tool. These utilities were motivated toreduce the amount of water lost in their transmission systems because of a watermanagement strategy that emphasized conservation. They were also, however, motivatedby a fiscal desire to minimize the current value of monies spent on rehabilitatingdepreciating pipeline assets. As a direct result of these inspections, one utility has been able to defer a capitalinvestment of almost $900,000 in scheduled line replacements based on the age of thepipe. Another of these utilities was able to identify a number of leaks whose volumetotaled over 1,000 ML/day ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ a volume of water equivalent to that produced by a smallwater treatment plant.As a direct result of these inspections, these utilities have established condition basedasset management programs that are based on the actual condition of the pipeline assets,reduced their unaccounted for water loss and improved water conversation. Includes 7 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

06/01/2006

Number of Pages:

8

File Size:

1 file , 870 KB