Utilizing Advanced Satellite Imagery and GIS to Re-think Leak Detection The Water Loss Problem ?Aging water systems ?650 water main breaks everyday in the US (AWWA) ?“Non-Revenue Water” ? 16% of potable water lost every day 1 ? Up to 75% is recoverable 1 ?Replacement efforts are expensive ?Role of leak detection services 1. Thornton, J., Sturm, R., Kunkel, G., Water Loss Control Manual (2nd Edition), McGraw‐Hill, 2008. Current Standard Acoustic Surveying Methods Example: section of a system that would require field crews to listen on all system hydrants, followed by correlation on any sites that registered noise 1,873 miles of pipe Satellite Guided Acoustic Survey Example: section of a system that would require field crews to perform only correlation on any sites identified by satellite technology. Circles (or buffers) indicate an area where leak plume was detected 1,873 42 miles of pipe miles of pipe (within buffers) “Seeing” Rather than Listening Satellite unaffected by: ?Proximity to leak ?Pipe material ?Leak volume ?Technician listening skills