Earlier this year, a rural water district in Jefferson County came to eLynx Water Solutions to fulfill their need for continuous pressure monitoring services. In April of this year, the Jefferson County RWD 1 system manager, Kenny Lovett, and his team installed 7 Continuous Pressure Monitoring units across their system. The units were placed strategically at dead-ends throughout their water system.
After just two months of using eLynx’s Continuous Pressure Monitoring services, Mr. Lovett and his team gained valuable visibility into their water system.
As visible on the graph below, Mr. Lovett and his team were alerted to a significant decrease in pressure for one of the Continuous Pressure Monitoring units. When reporting the figures to the board, it was discovered that this dip in pressure was due to water usage by the fire department. The water consumption had not yet been reported into the water system office.
Many water facilities have experienced this scenario—unreported water consumption by authorized consumers like the fire department. Continuous Pressure Monitoring units help to account for water consumption by pinpointing the location and dates of consumption. This provides a checks and balance for system operators to verify that all consumption has been accounted for. Catching unreported water consumption helps operators better account for their physical water loss.
Having real-time pressure monitoring means you can investigate the source right away. While some water loss may not be in your control to improve, water operators can account for each pressure dip and categorize it.
In April, Mr. Lovett and his team were alerted to another dip in pressure. Mr. Lovett sent his team to investigate, and they were able to find the source quickly. Apparently, some county workers had hit their water line and were working to repair it.
As seen in the graph below, Mr. Lovett and his team were alerted to the pressure decrease. The stabilization of pressure is visible on the graph soon after the repair was made.
Just a few weeks ago, Jefferson County RWD received a low-pressure alarm at 11:45 PM. By 1:30 AM, Mr. Lovett’s team managed to locate the leak. Mr. Lovett knew the leak had to be located close to the monitor since he has two other monitors on this water line.
At 2:30 AM, the main line was valved off, and emergency services was called at 3:00 AM. By 5:00 AM, the leak was repaired. At 7:15 AM, water service was returned to customers. One water customer called in the morning to compliment the district on their prompt repair, having noticed the lack of running water around 4:00 AM.
Without eLynx’s Continuous Pressure Monitoring, Mr. Lovett and his team would not have known about the problem until customers reported either low water pressure or no water. Because they were alerted to the leak early, Jefferson County prevented $2,000 worth of water loss. Mr. Lovett estimates the detection saved his district about 250,000 to 500,000 gallons of water.
Recently in Jefferson County, a water leak occurred by a school in a location where a water leak detection unit is not currently installed. As a result of the leak going undetected, the school received a hefty four-figure monthly water bill—over double their normal bill amount. Jefferson County now plans to install a pressure monitoring unit at this location as well.
Without the installation of a pressure monitoring unit, there is no visibility into these types of issues until month-end billing. Excellence in customer service can be improved by catching these types of leaks before the billing cycle ends.
The Jefferson County rural water district plans on adding more water leak detection units throughout their system now that they have proven out that it is a quick return on investment.
With eLynx, it’s not all or nothing. You can gain visibility into your system slowly, with very low upfront costs. Jefferson County began with just seven Continuous Pressure Monitoring units. Rural water districts can start to see pressure readings without having to make a six-figure investment.
Jefferson County RWD’s investment for Continuous Pressure Monitoring for their first year of service was approximately $10,000. This is often the cost associated with receiving one-time leak detection service.
Remote visibility into your water system does not have to be a$100,000 investment. eLynx can get water districts started with pressure monitoring services for as low as $5,000 per year. Find out how your water district can get started with pressure monitoring services today.