The aim of the first month of the project was to locate leaks from the correlations obtained from the Enigma3m loggers; during the second month leaks were repaired and further monitoring was carried out in the third month. The trial was carried on Bandar Putra B DMA in the state capital Johor Bahru, with a total pipeline length of 38.51km and some 5,052 connections under investigation.
The leakage rate was determined by measuring the net night flow (NNF) and subtracting legitimate night flow from the minimum night flow. Prior to installation of Enigma3m NNF was 30.99l/s and total daily flow rate was 6,200m3/day.
During the implementation of the smart DMA program, a total of 295 Enigma3m units were installed by the team from Ranhill Water Services. The Enigma3m loggers were installed at hydrant valves, air release valves and on exposed fittings along the pipeline. The distance between sites for Enigma3m units varied depending on whether the pipes were metal or polyethylene.
The Enigma3m loggers installed in Johor use GPRS communications to transmit daily noise data from leaks to remotely locate leaks in water distribution networks, a major step-up from traditional techniques which include the use of metal rods to listen for leaks from above ground. They are deployed in underground chambers and require no outlay on surface level equipment.
Deployment of multiple loggers means correlation can be performed, locating leak positions more accurately. Leak location results can be viewed on PrimeWeb, Primayer’s cloud-based data collection platform for water network pressure, flow and leak location monitoring.
PrimeWeb makes collection of real-time data possible, along with visual display of water network hydraulic data, leak alarms and correlated leak positions. Ranhill SAJ’s on-the-ground leakage crews were able to locate incidents using Google Maps and, together with street-view visualization of leak positions, manage incidents efficiently and effectively.