Industrialisation of an invisible leak-detection technique using helium
Presented by PALYJA
CONTEXT
PALYJA supplies water to the west of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. In a city where water is scarce, the local subsidiary of SUEZ is grappling with many leaks in its outdated system. Invisible leaks are one area where PALYJA must take action as they account for 15% of the overall water production.
The particular situation of Jakarta – dense urbanization, noise, very low water pressure, plastic pipes, etc. – renders inefficient any usual method for detecting invisible leaks.
INNOVATION
PALYJA decided to adapt and industrialise at operational scale a technique coming from the oil industry. The innovation consists in developing an in-house method, organization and equipment in order to run permanent invisible leaks detection using helium gas as a tracer at an operational level. Helium is harmless to health and the environment. This project has been held with the assistance of the Operations, Research and Environment Department and the International Research Center on Water and Environment.
RESULTS
During the first nine months of operation, approximately 1,000km of the network have been inspected and 800 leaks detected and repaired, amounting to an estimated savings of 3 million m3 of water per year. This volume could supply more than 60,000 people. Some areas where water was scarce are now better supplied. Several Asian water companies and SUEZ Environment subsidiaries have already contacted PALYJA to study this leak-detection technology.
