Omaha's smart solution to water loss and cost: Digital ears on hydrants

The Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.) is a public utility that provides natural gas and water services in the Omaha, Nebraska region. M.U.D. operates three water production facilities and an extensive water distribution system capable of supplying over 300 million gallons of potable water per day to more than 229,000 customers. MUD's water distribution system consists of approximately 3,000 miles of water mains and 30,000 hydrants, supported by a network of pumping stations and water storage facilities that maintain consistent pressure and reliable service throughout its 275-square-mile service area. The utility maintains seven water storage reservoirs with a combined capacity of 91 million gallons to ensure an adequate water supply during peak demand periods. 

Like many utilities, M.U.D. faces ongoing challenges with its aging infrastructure, which results in leakage and, in some cases, water main breaks. The utility has an ongoing pipe replacement and maintenance program, but it recently took things a step further and invested in a 24-hour leak monitoring system to actively reduce water loss by finding and fixing leaks before they cause a service disruption from a pipe break or become a flooding issue.

Gene Siadek, Director of Transmission and Supply at M.U.D. said, “Our primary goal was to prevent water main breaks that cause unplanned service disruptions and require costly emergency repairs. These can run around $20,000 each. If we can identify and monitor the progression of a leak, we can schedule a repair with the optimal equipment and personnel during regular hours and usually cut the cost in half.”

M.U.D. opted for the Echologics EchoShore-DX permanent leak monitoring system. The DX nodes are easily attached to hydrants and contain highly sensitive acoustic sensors that listen for the distinct sound signatures created by water escaping from pipes. During low-usage nighttime hours, the nodes record acoustic data and transmit it via cellular networks to cloud-based software for analysis. Advanced algorithms process this data to identify potential leak locations by comparing sound patterns between adjacent nodes and analyzing changes in acoustic signatures over time.

“There are a lot of options on the market for leak detection,” said Siadek. “We chose this system because it came with a team of data analysts that summarize and model the large volumes of data and deliver it through a web portal as actionable work orders. This eliminated the need for us to hire additional staff to process the data.”

M.U.D. has multiple hydrant models with two different threads. Fortunately, this is not an issue for the EchoShore-DX sensors as they have different models to accommodate this, however, it did involve a fair bit of logistics in the ordering process. Node count is based on the utilities GIS data, but some of the hydrants had not been updated in the GIS system, so there was a bit of shuffling to do on the ground from time to time to match threads and the different hydrant types.

The utility installed 1,200 EchoShore-DX sensors in the latter half of 2024. “The Echologics team helped us with the initial install of 1,200 units, training our crews in the process,” said Siadek. M.U.D. staff have been adding the additional sensors ever since. “We are now up at around 1,450 and have another 400 sensors on order that we plan to install this year. Doing our own installs is cost effective and gives crews familiarity with the setup, which can improve troubleshooting.”

When a leak is detected, the system uses data from multiple nodes to accurately locate the leak and alerts utility operators, providing them with leak characteristics.

The implementation wasn't without its challenges. Omaha's water system includes many cast iron pipes that predate the earliest industry standards, making them thicker than typical installations. This unusual characteristic affects sound transmission and poses unique challenges for the acoustic monitoring system.

The cast iron seems to be better at transmitting interference from overhead power lines than other pipe materials. As the Echologics data analysts became familiar with the localized interference, the leakage alerts became more accurate.

Despite these initial hurdles, the system quickly proved its worth. In its first month of operation, the network identified 35 potential leak events, with 17 confirmed leaks that were promptly addressed. To date, M.U.D. has identified around 78 leaks, and about 50 of those were addressing the number one goal – preventing water main bursts by identifying leaks on those lines.

When comparing scheduled repairs to emergency responses, which often involve overtime labor and rushed material sourcing, the savings add up quickly. Siadek noted, “By addressing these 50 crucial leaks as non-emergency repairs, we have saved approximately $500,000. Before the DX nodes, we had no way of knowing if there were any leaks unless they surfaced.”

Other leaks are found on hydrants that are generally a quick fix with maintenance and repair, or sometimes they need to be replaced. There are also leaks on service lines, but because the city does not own the service lines, homeowners do, they can be unrepaired for a long time. The utility informs homeowners that they have a leaking service connection and advises them that they have 30 days to fix it, but that doesn’t always happen.

M.U.D.'s strategic approach to leak detection represents a broader trend in utility management: using smart technology to make infrastructure maintenance more proactive than reactive.

“Having a permanent leak monitoring system on 175 miles of critical infrastructure is helping reduce water loss and cut costs by addressing issues before they become emergencies. The analyst-reviewed data with actionable work orders is a game changer for our team. We are very good at fixing leaks, and now that they are pinpointed and monitored, we can focus on doing what we are good at, knowing that we have reliable quality data,” concluded Siadek.