Smart hydrant technology detects over 30 leaks

Overview

Non-revenue water loss in Kansas City, Missouri, is being driven down by a successful collaboration between the municipality and California-based technology company Orbis. The partnership began in September 2022, with the installation of 150 Orbis SmartCap telemetry leak detection devices on fire hydrants, which have already found over 30 leaks.

Challenge

The water network in Kansas City comprises 2,300 miles of water pipes and distributes up to 240 million gallons of water a day, serving over 450,000 people. Much of the pipework is legacy infrastructure, installed within busy commercial and residential areas. The water loss experienced, ranges from small leaks in the service lines taking water to properties to large breaks on the distribution mains traversing the city, where water can become visible as it breaks through roads and sidewalks, causing major disruption in busy areas.

The municipality is proactively reducing water loss in the distribution system, not only for visible leaks but by incorporating early detection for leaks hidden deep underground. Existing technologies could not always meet the demands of Missouri’s variable weather conditions, or the need of technicians to easily relocate and deploy leak detection equipment at short notice.

Engineers and technicians at Kansas City Water were looking for a more effective leak detection system that was robust and adaptable and took advantage of existing urban infrastructure to build resilience. They also wanted to make a shift from reactive decision-making to data-led proactive operations by integrating smart water technologies into drinking water infrastructure systems.

Successful collaboration speeds-up detection of underground leaks

Having demonstrated the capability of Orbis SmartCaps, a second order was placed in September 2023, and Kansas City Water now has 150 devices in operation in the city as part of a proactive campaign to reduce leakage on the water network. To date they have been placed in the popular Plaza area in downtown Kansas City and in a residential area, acting as initial deployment sites.

Alongside the installed SmartCaps, Kansas City Water technicians have been trained on the Orbis cloud-based Streamline portal, where they can regularly check and identify warnings for potential leaks coming from the installed devices. The SmartCaps’ pinpoint accuracy enables Kansas City Water repair teams to quickly locate underground leaks. Once an area has been fully surveyed, and all existing leaks – as well as any smaller and emerging leaks, have been found, it is possible to easily relocate the SmartCaps if needed.

Auto-generated real-time reporting that drives smarter decisions

Fire hydrants are connection points into the water main, and the Orbis SmartCap is an intelligent hydrant and pipe monitoring device that enables remote leak detection by providing intelligent network data from a multi-sensor.

The device can convert any fire hydrant, be that wet or dry barrel hydrants or legacy hydrants, into a smart-enabled asset simply by replacing the pumper nozzle cap. Once installed, the SmartCap emits a secure wireless signal to the cloud with algorithms enabling the SmartCap sensors to interact and connect with each other.

SmartCaps use GPS to show accurate leak locations with timestamps capturing acoustic data. Data uploads from the connected SmartCaps allow analysis of sounds for accurate pinpointing of leaks.

The Streamline portal and dashboard provide actionable alert notifications and identify locations for corrective action to enable near real-time, auto-generated reporting for network efficiency. Alert notifications on parameters including leakage, tamper, flow and pipe condition can be viewed on the online portal, or through an application programming interface (API) on a utility’s in-house database.

The portal gives a distance, in feet, from the hydrant, making pinpointing exact locations easier. This actionable intelligence enables utilities and municipalities to manage water network operations efficiently and effectively.

Significant cost-savings from reducing NRW losses

Drinking water systems in the US currently lose at least six billion gallons of water every day and a water main break occurs every two minutes, according to figures from the American Society of Civil Engineering – which says the country lost an estimated US$7.6 billion of treated water in 2021 due to leaks.

Additionally, for Kansas City Water, some of the potable water leaking from water mains makes its way into the sewer system by infiltration. This adds to the volume being treated at the wastewater treatment plant, increasing costs and increasing strain on the plant.

Implementing Orbis SmartCaps has achieved significant water and cost-savings by alerting Kansas City Water to leaks which would otherwise have continued for weeks, even months. The SmartCap’s remote monitoring capability means no labor resource is required onsite to detect the leaks. However, the biggest savings come from the prevention of future water losses and by lowering the risk of major infrastructure damage and the costly legal claims that can result from a water main break.

Orbis supports Kansas City Water with technical support where queries arise, with follow-up meetings and on-hand emergency contacts made readily available. Training on the Streamline portal is also available to ensure the software’s use is maximized and expanded as software developments are made.