FCS Cuts Benton County’s Water Loss By 66 Percent
Equipment finds leaks fast, minimizing damage and resource waste
Milford, OH (April 11, 2012) – Using Fluid Conservation Systems’ (FCS) leak detection equipment, Benton County Water District #1 (Avoca, Ark.) has reduced non-revenue water by 66 percent. Over the last six years, the municipality saved over 101 million gallons of water at a cost of $207,257.
A municipal worker uses an AccuCorr 3000 to analyze data collected from a Permalog leak noise logger (foreground).
Founded in 1972, Benton County Water District #1 has 170 miles of main water lines serving an average of 380,000 gallons of water per day through its 2,100 meter connections. The lines are all PVC except for one mile of ductile iron pipe, which was installed in 1996.
In 2006 the district was experiencing an average water loss rate of 26 percent, with some months as high as 40 percent. At the end of the year, officials calculated a total loss of 42.5 million gallons of non-revenue water. To combat this problem, the district purchased 10 Permalog leak noise loggers, a Patroller II remote data collector, an AccuCorr 3000 correlator with three outstations, and an Xmic ground microphone. After training from FCS, the program was put into place in the fall of 2007.
Permalog acoustic leak noise detectors attach magnetically to water lines and “listen” for leak noise. Data from the Permalogs is collected remotely with the Patroller II, and analyzed with the AccuCorr 3000 to determine the existence and general location of leaks. Workers then use the Xmic ground microphone to pinpoint the leak, minimizing investigatory digging.
Municipal workers found two main leaks and numerous small service leaks within the first month. Through continued product training District #1 improved their efficiency, finding 34 leaks in 2010. According to county officials, the municipality averaged only 12 percent loss for the first 9 months in 2011.
“Most of the leaks found with the FCS equipment would not have surfaced. Two of the leaks found and fixed in 2011 have been leaking probably since the pipeline was installed in 1974,” said Benton County Water District #1 Manager, Edwin Cooper. “At an average of 8 gpm for both leaks, this equates to approximately 155.5 million gallons at an average cost today of $318,775 for 2 small leaks.”
Tags: AMI, AMR System, Benton County, FCS, Fluid Conservation Systems, non-revenue water
