Leak Detection

Even a small leak the size of a pin hole in your water supply pipe could lose up to 4,500 litres of water a day at a cost of £9.94, or over 1.6m litres a year at a cost of £3,628.10, These would be fixed costs if you have a water meter fitted. An underground leak may never show above ground as leaks often escape through the ground or into the drainage system.
How can we help?
We offer a find and fix service by using techniques such as digital correlation, sonde or line tracing, ground mikes or relying on traditional methods such as surface sounding

We are installers of water mains in Northumberland, County Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside and North Yorkshire.

We want to help you to be as efficient as possible by repairing unwanted leaks, controlling costs and preventing unnecessary waste.

If you see an increase in your water bills or suspect that you might have a leak on your premises give us a call. After discussing the problem, we can send our leak detection/repair team at a fixed cost to your business or home at a time that suits your needs.

They will locate, isolate the burst and carry out the necessary repairs or replacement with as little disturbance or disruption as possible. Our service includes excavation, repair and reinstatement of the affected area.

Case Studies
Northumberland Council - County Hall

We were asked to investigate high usage at the above, the night flow tests found a loss of 3,300 litres per hour this would equate to a total loss of £68,886.68 per year.

A full leakage survey was then carried out using correlators and ground mic, the existing mains supply was found to be 150mm ductile iron, 2 x leaks were located on separate legs of the supply.

1 section was solved by inserting a new main through the existing and the other leak repaired with a clamp.

Willington FC

The football club received a high bill from the local water authority, we carried out a full leakage survey and found the supply to be losing 15 litres per minute which equates to a loss of £17,423.64 per year. As the existing supply was alcathene a line trace/sonde was used to identify the route, the leak was then located to an old tee piece a repair was then carried out and a further leak test confirmed no further leakage.

Equipment
Xmic Ground Microphone
Leak Correlation
Line Tracing/Sonde
- Xmic Ground Microphone
Xmic is an advanced, yet easy to use electronic ground microphone to detect leaks on underground pipes. It is designed to amplify the noise generated by water escaping from buried supply pipes under pressure, so that the leak position can be pinpointed. The latest acoustic and amplification technology provides excellent sound quality, whilst a range of features help effective and accurate pinpointing on site.


- Leak Correlation
When a liquid under pressure escapes from a pipeline it creates a sound pressure wave (leak noise) which travels along the pipe from the exit point.

The velocity at which the sound travels within the pipe depends mainly on the pipe diameter and material. Most leak correlators will use two sensors which are attached to the pipe on either side of the leak point

To perform a correlation the user will input the distance between the two sensors, and the pipe material (if known) into the base unit. Each sensor records the sound and transmits this data to a base unit, which measures the time difference between the leak noise signals arriving at each sensor. From this data, the base unit can calculate the precise location of the leak.


- Line Tracing/Sonde
The unique plastic pipe tracers are designed specifically to allow small diameter, non-metallic pipes to be traced. Developed as a result of requests from the gas and water industry, the line tracers are the smallest diameter product on the market and can be successfully inserted into pipes when nothing else fits. Their unique construction gives unparalleled reliability and yet allows both 'line' tracing and the important 'end' tracing using the remarkable Sonde technology housed at the very tip of the tracers.
Main Laying RWS Ltd offer a full range of water build and rehabilitation services using the latest techniques. These include the installation of all types and sizes of water mains.
Lead Replacement We also offer Trenchless Pipe Replacement or 'moling' click here to find out why molling is so good.
Leak Detection At RWS we pride ourselves on using the latest leak detection techniques to locate and resolve problems, this ensures the minimum amount of disruption to your business or home.
Repairs We can carry out repairs to lead, copper, steel, alcathene, MDPE, cast or iron pipes.