The world is struggling with increasing drought and all of its consequences. The numbers rerelating to water losses in the various distribution networks are alarming. An emergency situation like this calls for intervention on existing infrastructures using a new approach.
WATER STRESS
According to the Unicef-WHO Report, the disparities in water consumption around the world are enormous: It goes from 425 liters per day for an American, to 20 liters for an African family. Although water covers over 70% of this planet, it is predominantly saltwater; only about 2.5% of all natural water is fresh and therefore suitable as drinking water.
Since the last turn of the century, the number and duration of periods of extreme drought has increased by 29%; Today, some 200 countries are affected by desertification and billions of people face severe ‘freshwater stress’ annually. From an economic point of view, it is inevitable that the drought also causes considerable losses worldwide.
LEAKAGE DETECTION AND MAINTENANCE
In addition to weather events that are difficult to predict, the causes of the water crisis include bad choices and negligence. The solution lies mainly in adapting water consumption and optimizing outdated infrastructures and distribution systems.
Cutting-edge technologies and systems for leak detection and maintenance intervention on pipelines offer great opportunities for the optimization of water distribution systems. This was demonstrated by two successful application cases presented at the IFAT in Munich.
Case study | Hera Group
In their innovative approach to guide the maintenance and survey activities on its aqueduct network over 35.000 km long, the Italian multi-utility company HERA S.p.A adopted Pipeline Risk. This system, developed by Rezatec in collaboration with ISOIL Industria, monitors the risk of pipeline failure using geo-spatial data and artificial intelligence.
Having regular and up-to-date information about their water distribution network enables crucial decision-making. This helps HERA to prioritize investments and thereby optimize the deployment of resources. Also, significant savings are achieved in maintenance and repair costs compared to previous methods.
Case study | Acquedotto del Fiora
Despite the size of its pipeline network – spanning 8,000 km in rural Tuscany – the regional water company Acquedotto del Fiora S.p.A. (AdF) serves only about 400,000 customers. This makes it particularly challenging to locate pipeline failure and the sources of water losses.
On its mission to become a data-driven organization, AdF implemented the Pipeline Risk program as a pilot on 674 km of its water network. In only a short amount of time 18 leaks were identified, 15 of which had a high probability of major water loss. Thanks to the monitoring system, AdF is able to accurately plan when and which pipe sections need to be replaced and which investments – both in man hours and money – are required.
This article was originally written and published by Isoil™
U-F-M is for Isoil™ the exclusive distributor in the Netherlands. This Italian company specializes in electromagnetic flowmeters. Constant technical improvements and solutions for every application.
