The Traceur gas technique
Although acoustic detection techniques are most common, they do have limitations due to the nature of the soil and the pipe material, which can disturb noise propagation, and also in the event of low network pressure.
The alternative tracer gas technique overcomes these drawbacks and the problem of not having direct access to the pipe.
The technique consists of injecting a gas (helium or a mix of hydrogen and nitrogen) into the water network under pressure. The water, containing the gas which escapes at the leak point, is detected by a spectrometer. This technique has been used both in France (Digne-les-Bains) and in other countries (Jakarta – Indonesia).
The example of Palyja (Indonesia)
Palyja, the Indonesian subsidiary of SUEZ Environment, has been faced with major leaks representing almost 15% of its overall water production. In 2005, it called on the CIRSEE teams to implement the helium leak detection technique on its network. In the first 9 months, approximately 1,000 km of network were inspected and 800 leaks detected and repaired, representing an estimated saving of 3 million m3 of water per year.
