CCWI2017: F93 'Investigating a spatially constrained geostatistical technique for approximate leak/burst event location'

Responding quickly to leaks and bursts in water distribution systems can provide a number of benefits to water companies. Therefore, methods which allow a water company to determine the approximate location of leaks and bursts in a timely manner are desirable. This paper presents 10 examples of a spatially constrained inverse-distance weighted interpolation technique for determining the approximate location of a new leak or burst which has been tested using pressure data collected during a number of bursts simulated by opening fire hydrants in a real water distribution system. The results of the examples indicate that the SCIDW technique can reduce the proportion of the DMA which needs to be searched but that there are a number of factors, which have been identified as a result of these examples, which affect the leak/burst localisation performance which are not currently accounted for by the methodology.