Modern methods for monitoring water leakages in water networks

Abstract

Abstract The main idea of this article is to adopt the thesis that the main and, at the same time, the most effective (apart from proper maintenance and operation) element of the strategy of limiting water losses in water supply networks is continuous integrated monitoring of the network using the latest achievements of IT technologies, including GIS (Geographical Information System), GPS (Global Positioning System), GSM (The Global System for Mobile Communications) and software based on a cloud platform. Considering the above, the paper highlights the problem of leakages against the background of water deficit in the world and proposes a classification of methods for detecting and estimating the size of leakages. On the basis of available literature sources, selected modern and, in the authors’ opinion, most interesting water loss monitoring systems enabling leak detection and estimation of the amount of wasted water are presented. Then, these methods are analysed, pointing to their strengths and weaknesses in terms of leak detection efficiency.