A novel design of the multi-wire-based solution for water leak detection and localisation in buried pipes

With the increase of the need for freshwater, concerns about leaks in water distribution systems have been increasing. These leaks may cause not only water losses but also significant damages to public property. Proposing an appropriate solution to identify them at an early stage is required to avoid extra problems. This paper presents a novel design of the multi-wire solution for water leak detection and localisation in underground pipelines. The enhanced technique aims to overcome the limitations of the old design while preserving the same performance. The novel design uses a reduced number of sensing wires which facilitate the implementation phase, reduce energy consumption and lower the system cost. Several experimental trials were made in the laboratory to test the efficiency of the system. The obtained results confirm that the proposed methodology is highly sensitive to small leaks and accurate in locating them without triggering false alarms.