With the rapid developments in internet-based technology, the value of using the internet as a platform for data access and display is being recognised throughout the world.

Remote logging through GSM and GPRS devices in particular are commonplace and easily accessible to all water suppliers in virtually every country. The costs associated with both the hardware as well as the software and associated communication charges have all decreased in recent years with the result that the financial viability of using such technology to assist with leakage reduction activities is now clearly evident.

This article will provide a brief overview of the use of flow and pressure loggers in a water reticulation system to highlight the value of such information as part of any leakage reduction programme. The interpretation of minimum night flows (MNF) and various pressure checks will be discussed using a number of practical examples to demonstrate how such logging results can be analysed.

It will also present details and interesting examples from a wide variety of case studies undertaken throughout Southern Africa using some of the latest internet-based data acquisition and display systems. Such technology is now widely available to virtually every water supplier in the world and the benefits of proper monitoring and rapid response to problems is without doubt one of the most effective measures in driving down leakage.

The remainder of this article will explain some of the key issues associated with both flow and pressure logging and provide some examples to highlight the value of such logging.

Download the technical paper here.