Leakage Reduction in Water Distribution Network using Helium Mass Spectrometer

Many water service providers in India fail to accomplish the fundamental objective of supplying adequate and safe water effectively at affordable prices due to an intermittent water supply. Besides inconveniencing users, risk of contamination and water wastage is more in intermittent water supply which leads to this failure. In view of this the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) proposes to provide continuous water supply to the consumers for the entire city in phases. Leakages in the distributaries must be fixed before a 24×7 water supply system is put in place to reduce the amount of water lost in distribution. This paper describes the leak detection of invisible leaks using Helium Mass Spectrometer implemented in Dalvi Nagar area of PCMC. Using this technique, total 18 invisible leak points are detected in three cycles of leak detection.The study includes flow measurement and its monitoring showing that water flow from Elevated Service Reservoir decreased after leak repair resulting in water conservation. This paper reveals that quality of water also improved after leak detection and repair work meeting the standard limits.