The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) on Tuesday resumed a hi-tech leak-detection exercise in the city with a team of experts from two private concerns scanning the vintage 600-mm cast iron pipeline ferrying water to the low-lying areas.
On the first day, the team scanned 500m of the pipeline at Bakery Junction using Sahara, a wired technology to detect air traps, leaks and unauthorised tapings. The sensor attached to a wire shoots videos of the pipe’s interiors. The apparatus comprises a small drag chute which uses the flow of water to take the sensor through the pipeline, recording visuals on the way. For scanning one metre, it costs Rs.1,000.
‘Good condition’The preliminary examination of the visuals captured by Sahara reveals no leaks, but it has detected high concentration of solid particles inside the 500m stretch of the pipeline. The 80-year-old pipeline seemed to be in good condition, a top KWA official told The Hindu . In the coming days, leak detection tests would be conducted along a 12-km stretch covering the Peroorkada, Ambalamukku, Muttada, Mannanthala and Sasthamangalam areas.
Two firmsThe KWA has awarded the project to Delhi-based Four ITS Private Ltd., which executes the work through Canada-based Company Pure Technologies and Manila-based Maynilad Water Services Inc, using advanced technologies — Smart Ball and Sahara. Smart Ball is a free-swimming acoustic leak detector capable of detecting very small leaks. The cost of one ball is around Rs.6.5 lakh.
It can be floated without disrupting flow of water and can be retrieved after the inspection.
Earlier usesThe Smart Ball was first used to scan the 1200-mm transmission line from Aruvikkara to Vellayambalam and the Sahara technology was earlier used to detect defects in the 33-inch line from Vellayambalam to Bakery Junction in March 2013.
