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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Mark Phipps, Professional Engineer
DATE: June 12, 2017
SUBJECT:
A resolution to allow the Director of Procurement to execute a contract with Hydromax USA/Utilis of 11492 Bluegrass Parkway, Suite 106, Louisville, KY 40299 in the amount of $114,000 for the Satellite Leak Detection Pilot Program.
PURPOSE:
Use satellites to detect leaks in the City’s water distribution system. This is a new technology that promises to help the City identify more leaks and at a much faster rate than conventional methods. This will help the City achieve its goal of reducing its non-revenue water.
BACKGROUND:
The City began a 3-year conventional leak detection program in 2016. In this program, the City pays a consulting firm $28,500 per year to canvas one third of the City’s water distribution network using acoustic equipment to listen for noise signatures representative of potential leaks. Conventional leak detection programs are most effective at finding leaks on small diameter pipes made of metal. This is a weakness of conventional programs because the methods are not very effective at finding leaks in larger diameter pipes, which can lose more water than smaller pipes. Plus, the City has over 55 miles of non-metallic water main made of plastic or concrete.
Satellite leak detection uses technology that was invented to look for water on other planets. It looks for the specific dielectric properties of water, in this case the dielectric properties of potable water interacting with soil. It does not pick up sewer leaks because wastewater has different properties than potable water. It does not pick up lawn sprinklers because the technology is looking for water several feet below the ground surface. The technology is effective regardless of the surface terrain, urban density, pipe material or size. Another advantage of satellite leak detection is that an entire City-wide analysis can be completed in weeks, not years. Based on research performed by City staff, Hydromax USA/Utilis is the only company using this technology.
While satellite leak detection is very new, Hydromax USA/Utilis has successfully completed similar projects for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities and the Knoxville (TN) Utility Board. The first satellite image taken for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities found 300+ water main leaks on 1,000 miles of pipe. (For reference, the City of Aurora’s water distribution system has 760 miles of pipe.) One of the leaks found in Kansas City was a 300 gallon per minute leak that quite possibly would not have been found using conventional leak detection methods, since it was on a 42 inch diameter concrete pipe, where the distance between appurtenant structures was well outside the range required for acoustic equipment.
DISCUSSION:
Hydromax USA/Utilis has proposed a pilot program for Aurora in order to demonstrate the efficacy of the satellite leak detection technology over a 1-3 month period. The scope of services (described in full in Exhibit A) consists of: a single satellite image of the City, a report indicating leak location sites, a prioritized list of 15-20 sites for field verification, field verification of those sites (using conventional leak detection methods), and a report summarizing the findings of the field verification. The cost of these services is $38,000 per month. If satellite leak detection does not identify enough leaks in the first month, the City would be under no obligation to continue for the second and third months. But if the satellite image helps identify significant leaks, the City can choose to continue the pilot program. The benefit to the City of repeating the pilot program during the second and third months is that additional satellite images are likely to find leaks that were not discovered by the first satellite image. Although the satellite leak detection technology is more accurate than conventional methods, it is not perfect. The second satellite image for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities found approximately 100 leaks that were not included in the 300+ leaks found using the first satellite image. Some of these may not have existed when the first image was taken, but others just did not show up.
The cost of this pilot program can be justified by the value of the water that will be saved when the largest leaks are found sooner. The City’s current leak detection consultant found 70 leaks in 2016. The estimated rate of water loss from the top 15 water leaks averaged 14,300 gallons per day. If the pilot program finds the City’s top 45 leaks in 2017, and those same leaks were found by conventional methods, but spread out over 2017, 2018, and 2019, the City will save over 245 million gallons of water, assuming an average rate of water loss of 14,300 gallons per day for each leak. That amounts to $175,000 in savings, based on the City’s cost for water production. The City’s savings will be even greater if the pilot program is able to find leaks on larger and non-metallic water mains that are not likely to be found by conventional methods.
Any time during or after the pilot program, the City has the option to engage Hydromax USA/Utilis in a subscription service for ongoing satellite leak detection services. Subscription services are customized for each client, but Hydromax USA/Utilis estimates a $10,000-$16,000 monthly cost for subscription services for a city the size of Aurora. The minimum commitment for a subscription service is one year.
One important difference between a pilot program and subscription services is the scope of work included. Hydromax USA/Utilis does not typically include field verification of potential leak sites in subscription services, as it does for pilot programs. This means that if the City were to engage Hydromax USA/Utilis in a subscription service for satellite leak detection, the City would still need the conventional leak detection services provided by its current consultant to field verify the leaks. In this scenario, the City would rely on the satellite imagery to identify and prioritize leaks, then use this information to direct the field work of the conventional leak detection consultant. Conventional leak detection would no longer be used to canvas the City’s entire water distribution network. Using satellite leak detection technology in this manner would help the City find more sources of non-revenue water and find them much more quickly.
Project account 510-4063-511-38.47 will have sufficient funds for the first month of the pilot program. If the initial satellite image helps identify significant leaks, staff will request a budget transfer to continue the pilot program.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Excavation at the sites of potential water main leaks is likely to disrupt traffic.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Staff recommends the proposed resolution be adopted.
cc: Alderman Garza, Chairman
Alderman Donnell
Alderman Bohman
Alderman Hart-Burns, Alternate
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
title
A Resolution to award a contract to Hydromax USA/Utilis in the amount of $114,000.00 for the Satellite Leak Detection Pilot Program.
body
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, The City has an interest in reducing its non-revenue water; and
WHEREAS, satellite leak detection can help the City identify more water main leaks and at a much faster rate than conventional methods.
WHEREAS, Funds are available in account 520-4063-511-38.47
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: that the award of a contract to Hydromax USA/Utilis in the amount of $114,000.00 for the Satellite Leak Detection Pilot Program is hereby approved, and the Director of Procurement is hereby authorized to enter into such a contract on behalf of the City.