Panametrics Technology Helps Track Potable Water Leaks

The Problem

Ronneby is a small Swedish city with 12,000 people. Its Local Authority was concerned about the volume of potable water losses through its pipeline network due to leakages. This is a problem not unique to Ronneby but applies to many cities in Sweden and around the world.

1 m3 of potable water is currently priced €1.50 in Sweden, meaning that the cost of any significant leaks can be huge (it is not uncommon to see millions of m3 worth of leakage across a water network not equipped with leak detection technology). Quite apart from the cost and efficiency, water is becoming scarce in many parts of the world, and in Sweden, greater attention is being taken to identify, track and remedy leakages.

Identifying leakages, in Ronneby, the Local Authority focuses on night flows when people are generally sleeping, as the flow is expected to be very low. If the flow is unusually high, then it raises the likelihood of leakage.

The introduction of Panametrics flowmeters to map the municipal water network will help the Local Authority rapidly identify leakages enabling quicker fixes.