... means learning to save

The Swabian saying "Noo nix umkomme lasse" is a central axiom of successful southwestern German economic management. Translated freely into English it means "Let's not waste anything." With its program LeakControl, the EnBW gets serious about this. They use flow measurement technology from FLEXIM.

It is a horror scenario for the proverbially economical Swabian: leaky places through which good money trickles away somewhere in dark underground conduits, and be it only in the form of fresh drinking water. There is no need for any more sleepless nights due to creeping waste. Equipped with ultrasonic flow meters FLUXUS from FLEXIM, the EnBW is looking for gaps in the system. A framework contract, entered into in October 2007, between the EnBW affiliate RBS wave and FLEXIM governs the exclusive supply of the most modern flow measuring technology from Berlin to Baden-Wuerttemberg's largest water provider. On January 21, 2008, the company representatives met to discuss the perspectives of the established partnership. Rainer Deiss and Erwin Kober of the RBS wave, respectively of the EnBW, and Jens Hilpert and Martin Kühne of FLEXIM were agreed: This modern measuring technology creates a huge potential for saving.

The reduction of water loss due to leaks in the pipeline system is becoming increasingly important for water providing companies. For this reason, the EnBW Regional AG has developed an innovative system of monitoring and early alarm, through which occurring leakage can be recognized quickly. Long, costly periods of leakage and a large expenditure of time in the search for burst pipes are therefore a thing of the past. The principle of gapless monitoring of the system is simple: Occurring leakages raise the water consumption, and therefore mean increased flow in the intake. If such sudden changes in the flow are observed, a leak can be assumed and looked for specifically.

The basis of gapless system monitoring consists of exact flow measurements in the water supply system. The experts from the EnBW have decided to use the ultrasonic flow meters FLUXUS from FLEXIM. The clamp-on ultrasonic transducers are installed at various places in the distribution system-in accordance with the existing system structure. Via a GSM modem (mobile radio), the obtained measurements are transmitted to a central computer-for instance in the city hall or in the central maintenance station-and there evaluated and visualized with special software. Normally at night between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., when the water consumption is at its lowest, the data are documented and compared at minute intervals. If significant deviations from average measurements of the previous nights are noticed, recently occurring leakage must be suspected. With the data from all flow measuring points of a supply zone, the area of damage can first be generally located and then-through conventional measuring procedures-precisely pinpointed. Repairs of the damage can be started immediately.

The advantages of non-intrusive flow measurement with the clamp-on procedure are obvious: Only a minimum of underground construction is necessary for the installation of the measuring equipment. The small ultrasonic transducers are easy to mount and can be installed in existing ducts without problem, without drilling and independent of the line material. For more than a year, the experts from the EnBW thoroughly tested comparable measuring systems by different manufacturers. Finally, they settled on FLEXIM as their technology partner. The robust workmanship and best performance decided the outcome: FLEXIM transducers measure with high precision even in the case of a very low flow volume.