Media Release

16 Jul 2007

Sydney Water reaches 18,000km target to check for leaks

Sydney Water has reached a significant milestone by completing an audit last financial year of 18,000 kilometres of its pipelines in an effort to save water.

Sydney Water Managing Director, Kerry Schott said the program had inspected 18,000 kilometres of pipelines for hidden underground leaks as part of the Active Leak Reduction Program.

“Sydney Water began the program in 1999 to reduce the amount of water lost through pipe leaks,” Dr Schott said.

“Over the past eight years, approximately 60,000 kilometres have been checked for leaks – the equivalent of inspecting the entire network more than two and a half times.

“The program uses sophisticated listening equipment to hear water escaping from the pipes and fittings.

“The acoustic equipment can reveal even tiny leaks hidden below the surface.

“Once detected, these leaks are marked and then repaired by one of Sydney Water’s crews who are on standby 24 hours a day to ensure the reliability of the water supply.

“Since 1999, the Active Leak Reduction Program has contributed to significant water savings, with more than 57.3 million litres of water each day now prevented from escaping our 21,000 kilometre pipe network.

“The leak detection crews once again met our 18,000 kilometre inspection target by 30 June, which was an outstanding effort.

“Reducing leakage is a key priority for Sydney Water, with a range of programs contributing to a significant reduction over the past few years.

“This is being achieved through an investment of $400 million over four years on a range of measures such as the Active Leak Reduction Program, the Water Main Renewals Program and improved response times to major leaks and bursts.

“Although Sydney Water has made substantial savings we continue to look for more initiatives to reduce leakage even further.

“Leakage from water systems is a world-wide problem - it’s complex and expensive to fix, and no water authority in the world has ever completely eliminated leakage.

“Despite this, Sydney Water is doing everything it can to minimise the loss of our precious drinking water.”

Information on Sydney Water’s leak reduction initiatives is available at www.sydneywater.com.au

 

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