Prioritize before you go out detecting.

Baseform is THE vDMA management software.

Active leak detection is a massive advantage when used wisely. Why 'wisely'? Because water networks are big enough that you can spend the rest of your life scanning pipes at the feasible rate, and never hit where it needs the most. How can you be sure? The IWA and AWWA's Water Loss 101 is based on a simple strategy:

(i) Monitor flows and quantify apparent loss and real loss volumes in the different sectors;

(ii) Prioritize based on actual data, not perceptions: where is the most volume, or the most revenue, being lost?

(iii) Then (and only then) act:: active leak detection and fixing, pressure management, meter management, mains renewal.

A water network is inevitably much more extensive than our ability to scan it for leaks. We can start today on the pipe just outside the door, and keep going for as long as we like – we will surely keep finding leaks. But are they the ones that matter? We have no assurance we are getting to the leaks that make the biggest dents on our NRW. Follow the tried and tested strategy: monitor, prioritize, act. There are no magical workarounds. If you don't have vDMAs, begin with your distribution zones, pressure zones, any available partition. Any sector that breaks down the problem into smaller chunks is a bonus. Then start building vDMAs one by one, and take it from there. 

Get in touch to find out how your utility can also benefit from Baseform.