Product(s):	WaterSight
Version(s):	10.00.
Area:	Documentation

 

Overview

Timely notification of potential burst and leak events, along with the ability to promptly locate and address them, is a fundamental component in minimizing real water losses.

WaterSight can monitor in near real time each zone flow and pressures and automatically alert for any potential leak or burst in the system. Once an event is generated or manually created by the user, the platform can effectively narrow down the search area by pint-pointing in a map the most likely hotspots (at red), as shown in figure below. 

Figure 1 - Map with the most likely (at red) and unlikely (blue) spots of potential leakage. 

 

For the leakage geolocation to work it is required to have at least real time zone flow data and a good hydraulic model. The hydraulic model (which is uploaded in Admin >> Numerical models) is used as base to simulate different leaks at different nodes locations, until the best achievement between modelled results and measure results is achieved.

Find below more information about the workflow (how to set up the leakage geolocation) and also all the requirements in more detail. 

 

Workflow

The leakage geolocation feature is available to all users, being simple and quick to use. Main steps are the following:

1. Preparation Steps: 
   • Make sure to have an up and running WaterGEMS model uploaded into WaterSight, and as per the requirements below (see Requirements section)
   • Make sure to have sensors transmitting data to WaterSight (flow and/or pressure)
   • Make sure to have zones balance well defined (with all inflows and outflows defined)
   • Make sure to set up automatic alert triggers for zones. More information here - configuring bursts alerts. 
2. Once a zone flow event is automatically triggered it will be automatically listed under the Active Events list. The user can immediately click on the "Run Geolocation" button in order to trigger the geolocation run. Note that this button is only available for flow events assigned to zones. 

          3. Wait until the geolocation run finishes, or access the temporary (in progress results) by directly clicking on the link "Running..."

         4. Once the run finishes, click on "Check Geolocation". The most likely nodes locations for the leakage will be colour coded red and orange, while the most unlikely nodes location will be colour coded blue (Figure 1). 

Alternatively, instead of waiting for an automatic event to be triggered by the application, the user can manually create a new flow event in a specific zone, and then run the geolocation. In this case, steps are the following:

1. Preparation Steps - same as above
2. Navigate to the zone graph detail, by acceding the Maps menu or the Network Monitoring menu. 
3. In the Zones graph detail, navigate to the correct time of the event. Make sure to change the time series Interval to "15 Minutes".
4. In the main graph window make sure to zoom to the right period of the event (using the mouse over the main graph), which should includes start and end date (figure below).

         5. Click on the create event button ( ). Give a name to the event, and make sure to correctly adjust the start and end date of the event. This is very important to make sure that the leakage geolocation results are maximized. Categorize the event and update the status. Click Create. 

        6. Once clicking create, the event will be added to the graph and represented with a pyramid purple symbol. Click over the event symbol to enter the event details graph. From there, on the side panel, click in the "Run Geolocation" button. This event will also be available directly from the Active Event list 

      7. Wait until the geolocation run finishes, or access the temporary (in progress results) by directly clicking on the link "Running...". Once the run finishes, click on "Check Geolocation". The most likely nodes locations for the leakage will be colour coded red and orange, while the most unlikely nodes location will be colour coded blue (Figure 1). 

The Geolocation capability can run almost in near real time (as new data arrives to the platform), but can also be used for past events (in that case the hydraulic model conditions and time measurements of that past period will be used). 

Note that the geolocation button is available directly from the active event list table or from the event detail graph. The event detail graph can be accessed either from the active event list , zone detail graph (by clicking in the event symbol), or maps page (zone with active events will be highlighted with a orange warning in the zones widget side panel).  

 

Requirements

Requirements for the uploaded WaterGEMS model in WaterSight

• Having a good hydraulic model up and running in WaterSight. Check for the Minimum Required settings here.  
• Having the SCADA signals created in the WaterGEMS model and mapped to the correct model elements. Check that:
  • SCADA signals are listed, and their signal tag must match exactly the sensor tags available in the sensor administration page of WaterSight
  • SCADA signals units defined in the WaterGEMS model match the units defined for the sensors in the sensor administration page of WaterSight 
  • SCADA elements are created in the model and are i) associated to the model element, ii) have the "field" defined and iii) have the SCADA Signal defined
  • More detailed information can be found here, under WaterGEMS model setup. Take special attention to all flow and pressure sensors as they will play a vital role.
• All the pipes and nodes need to have the correct zone defined, with the same name as the zone that appears in WaterSight. 
• In WaterSight, inside Admin >> Numerical Models, make sure that the zone demand adjustment zone by zone option is enabled. This is not required but good to have, in order to improve hydraulic model accuracy. 
• SCADA signals mapped to inactive model elements will be ignored for the geolocation runs. 

Note: Having all the pressure and flow signals correctly mapped in the WaterGEMS model is a requirement (as explained above). Those flow and pressure signals will be used for the Geolocation run and can also be used in the real time model (to override the hydraulic model initial conditions). More information here. If the user wants to ignore those sensors for the real time model, this can be done by defining as inactive the model elements connected to those signals (in the uploaded WaterGEMS model). 

Real time sensor data requirements

• Zones/DMA need to be defined in WaterSight under Admin >> Zones, with all inflows and outflows defined
• For each zone it is required a minimum of 2 flow sensors or 1 flow sensor and 1 pressure sensor (in that case the pressure sensor variation during the leak needs to be higher than 2m), otherwise the geolocation run will fail with a message error. Note that sensors associated to model elements that are inactive will be ignored. 
• Flow sensors belonging to the zone balance and pressure sensors must be transmitting data to WaterSight (minimum requirement of 2 sensors for each zone)

 

Why some sensors are being ignored? 

The geolocation results (Figure 1) include a map with the nodes colour coded by likelihood of leak as well as the identification of all flow and pressure sensors used in the geolocation run.  Check that all the inflows and outflows into the zone are being considered as well as all pressure sensors within the zone. 

Note that flow or pressure sensors might be ignored for the geolocation run due to one of the following reasons:

• Flow or pressure sensor without data for the leak event period
• Flow sensor not defined as inflow or outflow of the zone (in Admin >> Zones)
• Pressure sensor linked to a a junction without the zone field defined (or if pressure sensor connected to a valve, the nearest junction has the zone field missing)
• Flow sensor mapped to a valve for which the downstream or upstream pipe is missing the zone field
• Pressure sensors which have variations in value below 2m during the leak event are not considered influential and are also ignored

 

Common Errors

Error - Zone Missing in Model

If you get this error while running the geolocation, make sure to confirm if the same zone exists in the uploaded WaterGEMS model that is running in WaterSight, with the same exact name. And also check that pipes and nodes have that zone assigned. To check this, go to Admin >> Numerical Models >> Previous Simulations and download latest model, and open in WaterGEMS. 

Error - Minimum number of sensors required

If you get this error while running the geolocation, make sure to confirm if the zone has at least two sensors (flow and or pressure) in WaterSight with data during the event period. Please note that pressure sensors mapped to PRV model elements are not considered, as these elements typically don't help in narrowing down the search area inside the zone. 

 

See Also

Zones balance

Alert triggers

Configuring bursts alerts

Active Events list

WaterGEMS - Hydraulic Model Setup

OpenFlows WaterSight TechNotes and FAQ's

WaterSight Learning Resources Guide