AWWA ACE63105

In 2004, the Sahara leak location system was reintroduced into North America. Sahara is an in-line leak detection tool that identifies leaks in pipe of any material construction type ranging from 12"(300mm) in diameter and up. This paper discusses the experience that three large Texan water utilities (located in Dallas, Wylie, and El Paso) have had with this tool. These utilities were motivated to reduce the amount of water lost in their transmission systems because of a water management strategy that emphasized conservation. They were also, however, motivated by a fiscal desire to minimize the current value of monies spent on rehabilitating depreciating pipeline assets. As a direct result of these inspections, one utility has been able to defer a capital investment of almost $900,000 in scheduled line replacements based on the age of the pipe. Another of these utilities was able to identify a number of leaks whose volume totaled over 1,000 ML/day ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ a volume of water equivalent to that produced by a small water treatment plant. As a direct result of these inspections, these utilities have established condition based asset management programs that are based on the actual condition of the pipeline assets, reduced their unaccounted for water loss and improved water conversation. Includes 7 references, tables, figures.