Leaks are at a 20 year low
Leaks in Sydney Water’s network of watermains are at a 20 year low.
An astonishing 23,490 leaks have been fixed since September last year on Sydney’s 21,000-km network of water mains.
Sydney Water sends out an average of 81 crews daily to repair these leaks – as a matter of urgency- throughout the city.
Sydney Water Managing Director, Kevin Young, said since 2005-06, Sydney Water has achieved the top rating for water utilities in developed countries under the World Bank Guidelines for leak reduction.
“Sydney Water’s level of leakage has reduced from around 11 per cent in 2002/03 to 6.6 per cent which is a 20-year low and among the lowest in the world, ” he said
“Sydney Water faces a daily challenge getting crews out quickly repairing leaks and breaks, to minimise disruption to customers and traffic.
“ Fixing over 23,000 leaks reflects a smooth running operation which we are continuously looking to improve.”
“We use sophisticated acoustic equipment to detect hidden leaks in underground pipes. Leaks usually appear where the pipes join and our network consists of more than 5 million joints.”
The leak reduction program saves 27 million litres of water every day which equals more than 28 billion litres of water saved annually. This is enough to supply 140,000 typical households a year.
The Water Program helps improve the water supply system by replacing and repairing old and inefficient pipes, valves, reservoirs and pumping stations across the 21,000 km water network. The ongoing work helps reduce the risk of leaks, breaks and water system failures, and maintains good quality drinking water.
To find leaks and help prevent breaks, Sydney Water inspected 18,000 km of pipes for hidden leaks in 2010-11. Laid end to end, that’s about the distance from Sydney to Los Angeles and half way back again.
We urge our customers to report any breaks or leaks on 132090.
To know more, visit sydneywaternews.com
Category: Expert Opinion, Managing leaks, Managing leaks fact sheets, Managing Leaks News, Media, News
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