Click here for advertisement opportunitiesInvestigation of Ground Remote Sensing Techniques for Supporting an Early Warning Water-Leakage System
Investigation of Ground Remote Sensing Techniques for Supporting an Early Warning Water-Leakage System
Athos Agapiou, Dimitrios D. Alexakis, Kyriacos Themistocleous, Apostolos Sarris,Skevi Perdikou, Chris Clayton and Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis
The decrease of water availability is a major global problem that is increasing in intensity. Since water resources have been substantially reduced over the past years, control over water distribution is now considered imperative. For this reason, water supply networks are more closely monitored and significant efforts are made to reduce the effects of leakages. In addition to the design and maintenance of water distribution systems, researchers are also focused on the improvement of early detection and rapid response of a leakage. Research indicates that water supply network may lose up to 20-30% of water, with the main cause being water leaks (Cheong, LC 1991). In some networks, the loss can reach more than 50% (AWWA, 1987).
Systematic leakages can lead to significant losses in both water as well as financial resources. Water pipe networks, regardless of age, often present problems of water leakage, resulting in large losses of precious drinking water. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design and build systems that can detect the presence and location of leaks in water pipes networks. The detection of hidden leaks in underground water supply networks requires the use of instruments designed specifically for this purpose by a trained operator.
The most widely applied technique for the detection of hidden leaks is the acoustic method. Additional methods for leak detection also include thermography, remote sensing, geophysics etc. Leaks from pipelines under pressure create a whistling characteristic noise, which is transmitted by the water itself. Hunaidi and Chu (1999) used the acoustic method for leakage detection, which focused on various types of leaks under controlled conditions.
