Technicians from Aqua Analytics are once again using state-of-the-art acoustic technology to detect leaks in MidCoast Council's drinking water network.
The technicians will inspect more than 500 kilometres of water mains across the region over the next two months, starting in Taree and Wingham before moving onto Forster and Pacific Palms. This follows the inspections they completed in Harrington, Lansdowne, Old Bar, Forster, Tuncurry, Stroud and Tea Gardens in 2023.
The work is being completed as part of the NSW Government's Regional Network Leakage Detection Project.
Council's Executive Manager of Water and Systems, Marnie Coates, said the inspections were once again expected to help reduce water loss across the network.
"When Aqua Analytics inspected parts of our network last May they uncovered more than 200 leaks. We've since repaired these leaks, which has saved millions of litres of water that would've otherwise gone to waste," said Ms Coates.
"The beauty of the technology they use is that it allows them to pick up leaks in areas where it is very hard to find leaks visually. They're also able to detect really small leaks that would otherwise go unnoticed for a long time."
The technology is set to benefit residents as well, with the technicians able to detect suspected leaks on people's properties without even having to set foot on their properties.
Ms Coates explained that the technicians will be able to listen for leaks at a customer's water meter and if they detect one, they'll leave a notification letter in the mailbox.
"It's up to the customer to fix any leaks that the technicians find, but the good thing about this service is that it will alert people to leaks that they probably didn't know were there," she said.
"A concealed leak can add a lot to the cost of your water bill, especially if it's there for a long period of time."
Phase 3 of the Regional Network Leakage Detection Project is part of the NSW Government's $12.5 million Regional Leakage Reduction Program, which has already seen more than 13,000 kilometres of water mains surveyed, and more than 3,500 leaks found, saving NSW councils billions of litres of lost water in 2023 alone.
