Underground Water Leaks 5

[msquared48]

I have a client who is losing water and the meter shows it when the house is turned off - 1" meter still runs.

If the leak does not show itself at the surface, is there any common way to find the leak, short of digging up the whole line and replacing it? Don't want to do that as the trench would be over 1000 feet long. This line was installed in the mid 80's so and there are no drawings, so even the horizontal location of the line is floating out there.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[greenone]

I'll add my bit of experience with the coat hanger method: place each bent piece into a coke bottle-it lets them swivel freely. Used to do this when I was with a railroad way back when-all the project engineers did it.

 

[msquared48]

I do not have access to the audio of this video. What is this guy using?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvTwPi0mX4s

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[bimr]

It is a ground microphone with some noise reduction filters. Leaks cause vibration (sonic and subsonic noise). Small leaks tend to vibrate at higher frequencies; large leaks vibrate at lower frequencies

http://www.subsurfaceleak.com/ld12_prod_pg.html

 

[dicksewerrat]

The 'witch wands' can find any type of buried pipe or wire. I even won a bet with a survey crew. they said the line and its end, according to as-builts' was at one location. I said it was about 10 feet away. when we found it where I said it was, I told them it was magic.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[rconner]

While I have likewise had some fun with the carefully bent brazing rods in my cabinet, proper location of even water pipes can be quite serious (even up to life and death) business. From the reports at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing#Scientific_appraisal

(and particularly the study mentioned therein involving specifically plastic pipes in Kassel, Germany) and I believe the big unclaimed pots of the Amazing "Randi" as mentioned at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Million_Dollar_Paranormal_Challenge,

science does not yet appear to be on the side of the witchers.

 

[meghna77]

Some water companies usually invest in insertion flowmeters when cases of leakage or low pressure arise, especially if the pipeline is designed to transmit that flow. It is an expensive investment, but by having tapping points at regular intervals of the pipeline you can narrow down to the area of the leak from the decreased flow.

Like I mentioned, the insertion flow meters are quite expensive but I do know of some water companies that invest in them. This way, you might not have to dig up the whole line and only certain points at intervals.