Halma Water Management News - a Halma PR news blog

3500 Permalog loggers have been installed in the heart of Beijing to listen out for leaks in the mains water system. The HWM products are covering the area encompassed by the city’s 2nd Ring Road, which includes Olympic Games venues and Olympic Village facilities.

Beijing’s municipal water supply had its first 60 Permalog installations in 2000, and 2007 has seen over 3000 more loggers added. In addition to Olympic locations, Tiananmen, Zhongnanhai, Wangfujing and other key regions are within the monitoring zone. Already the system has helped to prevent any pipe bursts or flow problems during prestigious events such as the Sino-Africa Forum, Spring Festival, and the NPC and CPPCC sessions.

The use of the Permalog system has enabled the local water authorities to dramatically reduce leakage in the area, a strategy that is in line with national policies to aid water conservation. The drive-by feature also means that water companies can greatly reduce the time taken to investigate areas of the distribution network, and this has proved particularly effective in the busy metropolis of Beijing. Many of their water pipes are large, metallic systems that can suffer serious problems if any bursts occur. The Permalog network has enabled the engineers to pinpoint leaks quickly, so they can be fixed before developing into major incidents.

According to Allied Power (Beijing) Technology Ltd, HWM’s local distributor, the China National Science Commission and China Academy of Science have listed this project as one of the “Key Projects of 2007”. Mr. Wang Yaowen, Chief Engineer of Beijing Water Group said: “The Permalog water network leakage detection system is a leading system in the world. It has already been used in America and Europe for many years, and this project is helping to make Beijing’s water network as advanced as any other city in the world.”

City to utilize 1,210 Permalog leak detectors to reduce water loss and costs

Fluid Conservation Systems (FCS) has contracted to provide 1,210 Permalog™ + leak noise sensors to the Birmingham Water Works Board in order to lower costs and conserve water for the city of Birmingham, AL. This recent order is an addition to the 1,950 Permalog sensors currently in operation.

The Birmingham Water Works Board began using FCS equipment in 2005 with an initial purchase of Permalog 3 leak noise sensors. Deployed throughout a utility’s distribution system, Permalogs attach magnetically to valves and use advanced algorithms to discern the acoustic signature of leaks from background noise. The units ‘wake up’ and listen during the night when ambient noise is at its lowest. If leak noise is detected, the unit reports this information via a two-way radio link, along with the general location of the leak to a mobile unit that can then send a crew to pinpoint and repair the leak.

After three years of successful operation, the city decided to expand the reach of their monitoring system with the purchase of the new and improved Permalog +. An upgrade from the Permalog 3 unit, the Permalog + features increased battery life and memory capacity, improved leak noise recognition and data transmission speeds, and a smaller and more flexible design that allows for multiple data collection methods.

Birmingham is one of the largest water utilities in the country with nearly 4,000 miles of water transmission lines. The Permalogs will allow the Water Works Board to regularly check the entire service area for leaks, which was previously impossible with the amount of staff and time available.