New Leak Detection System Offers Correlation And Pinpoint Accuracy

Cleveland, OH — Hexagram, Inc., a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc., and Gutermann International, Zurich, Switzerland, have announced the development of the next generation of intelligent leak detection at the American Water Works Association's ACE07 conference and exhibition in Toronto, Canada. The STAR®-ZoneScan (STAR®-ZS) system brings together one of the world’s leading fixed-network automatic meter reading (AMR) systems with the world’s most advanced acoustic leak detection technology.

The STAR-ZS acoustic leak-detection system combines Hexagram’s STAR® Network AMR system with Gutermann’s ZonesScan 800® leak detection technology. The combination employs individual leak-intelligence units that attach directly to valves on the main water lines and are dispersed throughout the water distribution network. These units will continuously monitor and analyze noise characteristics on the water lines. However, rather than using a short-range radio device that must be read at the valve, the STAR-ZS includes an adaptation of a Hexagram meter transmitter that will fit on a lid that sits on the bell of the pipe leading to the valve. A wire extending from the transmitter will link it to the leak intelligence unit on the valve. The transmitter records the sound created by water flow at the valve and sends this data via the STAR fixed-network AMR system to the utility, which evaluates the data to determine the location of leaks.

The STAR-ZS will provide distinct advantages over other acoustic leak-detection schemes. Other approaches locate the leak-detection unit far away from the source of potential leaks on pipes leading to meters inside consumer residences. STAR-ZS will monitor directly on the main water lines. The other advantage of STAR-ZS will be its ability to pinpoint the source of leaks remotely by correlating the data provided by the transmission units. Other technologies cannot perform correlation remotely.

SOURCE: Hexagram, Inc.