Reducing non-revenue water in Zimbabwe

For two years in a row, Geolantis is the recipient of Austria’s prestigious eAward for the Smart City and Infrastructure category. This year’s winning project, “Geolantis.360 goes global: From Austria to Zimbabwe”, made from the collaboration of Geolantis GmbH, GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and GISS (General Infrastructure Systems Solutions) made non-revenue water reduction possible, along with the digital documentation of the nation’s access to clean water.

Minimising non-revenue water in Zimbabwe

Non-revenue water (NRW = water that’s lost before it reaches the consumers) is one of Zimbabwe’s major national issues. NRW through real (physical leaks) or apparent (metering inaccuracies) losses has heavy repercussions on water quality, water utilities, the consumers and eventually, on Zimbabwe’s economy.

Where water is scarce, like in Zimbabwe, NRW is not a choice. Water is a precious resource, hence the need for ways to minimize, if not eliminate NRW. In this project, the aim is to first expand the NRW knowledge of key people in the country, while the next goal is to reduce non-revenue water by implementing technology to make the NRW loss reduction more sustainable.

Four Steps Towards Water Leak Detection

Through the funding of the GIZ and the collaborative effort of GISS, training local water authorities in Zimbabwe was made possible. Implementing a work scale that’s easy to follow up and that helps minimize active water losses and collecting relevant information for the Water Work Database, on the other hand, were Geolantis’ main responsibilities.

Active leak detection and data collection process implemented by Geolantis.360 after the standard setup (equipment, GIS, inspections/safety checks, clearance) involved the following steps:

Step 1: Connection checks (for leaks or pressure)

Actual pressure in the pipe network is measured using an electronic gauge. The results are recorded for future analysis. After this, a glass fiber probe equipped with a highly sensitive microphone and 33khz sonde is inserted to detect and locate the smallest leaks along the pipe section. Since the sounds are transmitted from the microphone to an external waterproof Bluetooth speaker, leaks along the network are easily detected. The sonde, on the other hand, enables standard pipe locators to trace the leak’s exact location.

Step 2: Exact trace of the pipe section

After the leak detection survey, the exact trace of the pipe section is located through a pipe locator and the single points (water meter, pipe trace, pipe depth and T-junction) stored in a GPS handheld device with the necessary software for GIS data collection and mobile network mapping.

Step 3: Water meter accuracy verification

Once the pipe survey is accomplished, the installed water meter will be shortly replaced with a demo meter to check for accuracy. This test will determine whether the meter should be reinstalled or replaced.

Step 4: Billing information check and information import to the GIS system and network map

After the full pipe survey, the operator will compile the data to Database a GIS, network mapping or billing import.

Digitally mapping Zimbabwe’s water infrastructure and creating a way of accurately detecting and locating active leaks became possible through the Geolantis project. And because of this, Zimbabwe now has a sustainable way of preserving its water resource through decreasing non-revenue water all over the country.

Geolantis Redefines Utility Locating and Mapping

While asset loss is costly and dangerous, there are only a handful of companies offering modern utility mapping and locating services that can help prevent these expensive mishaps. Geolantis is one of the few companies all over the world offering utility locating and mapping services, especially for subsurface utilities. Geolantis integrates the process of manually surveying assets and data recording into a reliable, accurate, data-rich, cloud-based digital solution. And because Geolantis streamlines the workflow and significantly reduces errors implicit to traditional/manual methodology, the result is quicker, cost-effective process that helps you generate ROI faster.

With usability and interoperability with future technologies in mind, Geolantis offers data solutions that are not only effective but also sustainable in the long run. In addition to asset mapping and comprehensive, accurate and GIS-ready data collection, Geolantis.360 is also a fully integrated solution for managing a mobile workforce.

Whether you want a reliable utility locating and mapping, accurate data collection, cloud-based asset management or streamlined workflow solutions for your company, Geolantis can help. If you want more information on how Geolantis can help your company, feel free to reach out.

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