ePulse® Discovery™ Condition Assessment Service and ePulse® Optimize™ Condition Assessment Service

The ePulse Discovery™ condition assessment service is the industry’s first approach that can identify the condition of both distribution and transmission mains, while simultaneously searching for leaks, all without the need for large excavations or service disruptions. Leading utilities around the world are turning to ePulse technology because of its practical and added value approach.

ePulse Discovery™ condition assessment service has simplified inspection and condition assessment of buried pipeline assets. Inspection and data collection does not require access to the inside of a pipe or extensive support from utility field crews.

ePulse Discovery™ condition assessment service determines the average remaining wall thickness of pipes 200 to 700 ft. (60-200m).

ePulse Optimize™ condition assessment service gathers more granular data by finding the remaining wall thickness of pipe sections as granular as 30 to 100 ft. (10-30m).

Pipe Diameters

Distribution Main – 4-inches to 16-inches (100mm – 150mm)
Transmission Mains – 16-inches to over 90-inches (400mm – 2285mm)

Pipe Materials

Asbestos Cement (AC) Pipe*
Cast Iron (CI) Pipe
Ductile Iron (DI) Pipe
Steel and Mortar Lined*
Pre-stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) *

*pipe material applicable to ePulse Discovery only

Typical Applications

Understand the condition of a specific pipe section
Gather asset information for capital improvement planning
Confirm and validate desktop studies
Validate and confirm need prior to pipe replacement
Selection of pipe rehabilitation and lining strategy
Understand pipe condition prior to road resurfacing
Proactively manage leakage in your network with condition-based replacement

How ePulse® Technology Works

Acoustic sensors are attached to existing contact points, such as fire hydrants, valves or directly in contact with a pipe. A sound wave is induced in the pipeline and travels along the pipe. The acoustic sensors capture the time it takes the sound wave to travel between two sensor stations. The speed at which the sound wave travels is dictated by the condition of the pipe wall.

As the sound wave travels, it pushes water molecules toward each other. Because water is incompressible, the molecules push outward on the pipe wall. This places a microscopic flex on the pipe wall — and greater the flex, the weaker the pipe. Through this method, ePulse measures the strength of the pipe wall which is an accurate measure of pipe wall condition.

ePulse Optimize™ condition assessment service gathers more granular data by finding the remaining wall thickness of pipes 30 to 100 ft. (10-30m), compared to ePulse Discovery™ condition assessment service, that determines the average wall thickness of pipes 200 to 700 ft. (60-200m).

For Distribution Mains

For Transmission Mains

Accurate and Actionable Information

Once the acoustic data is captured, Echologics’ engineers use patented algorithms to convert the data into a measure of the average minimum remaining wall thickness of the inspected pipe segment. For metallic and asbestos cement pipe, the calculated wall thickness measurement is compared to the original thickness of the pipe to determine the average percentage of wall loss.

The ePulse technology can also be used to assess the condition of various classes of pre-stressed concreate cylinder pipe (PCCP) as part of a comprehensive operating risk assessment approach led by Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger (SG&H), a recognized global leader in PCCP assessment.

Sample Condition Assessment Results

The image below is a sample condition assessment report deliverable. The report identifies the pipe segment, length of inspection, the type of pipe, the nominal wall thickness, the measured average remaining structural wall thickness and the % change from nominal which is color coded in three categories: green (good), yellow (moderate), red (poor). Echologics Condition assessment reports are easy to understand and provide actionable information to a utility or consulting engineer.

Simultaneous Leak Detection

A unique benefit of the ePulse technology is that Echologics’ field engineers can simultaneously detect and pinpoint leaks. Echologics is a globally recognized leader in leak detection and has surveyed thousands of miles of water mains, successfully locating leaks on mains of all sizes. This increases program value by avoiding the need for separate inspections.

Monitoring Critical Infrastructure

In the event that high risk pipe segments are difficult to replace, Echologics offers the Echoshore®-TX platform which is an ideal solution to monitor transmission mains that are reaching the end of the operating life or have a history of rupturing. The platform can be applied to any pipe material with a diameter of 16-inches or greater and can monitor several parameters from leaks to static pressure.

Working with ePulse® Technology in the Field

ePulse® technology is a utility friendly condition assessment approach suitable for any town, city or water system operator. The collection of information about buried water main assets is simple, quick and cost-effective. The text and images below provide an overview of what to expect during an ePulse condition assessment project.

Echologics Field Vehicles

During an inspection, field crews typically use a van, pick-up truck or car with Echologics magnetic signage used to identify the vehicle. Some utilities choose to have a crew accompany the Echologics field team but this is not typically required. Both ePulse® Discovery™ condition assessment service and ePulse® Optimize™ condition assessment service inspections have virtually no impact on local traffic, businesses or the daily activities of residents.

Field Equipment

There is a minimal amount of equipment that is used during an inspection. The field equipment is very portable and consists of a laptop computer to capture and analyze data, a transmitter that is typically placed on the roof of a vehicle to capture signals from two receivers at either end of the pipe section that is being inspected. The receivers are connected to the water main using magnetic acoustic sensors.

Acoustic Sensor Attachment

The connection of the acoustic sensors is quick and straightforward. On a distribution main, the following attachment points can be used: fire hydrant, operating nut of a valve or via direct access to the pipe. For a transmission main, the following attachment points can be used: access chamber, blow off valve, air release valve or direct access to the pipe via a pot-hole or excavation. A review of pipe access points is typically required by Echologics staff prior to an inspection.

Data Capture

Prior to capturing data for a segment of water main, Echologics field engineers conduct an acoustical sound check and verify the proper operation the sensors. During the inspection, the sensors capture the time it takes for a sound wave to travel between the two sensor stations. The entire process – from set-up, to testing to data capture – typically takes 45 minutes. Once the field engineer captures the data, the equipment is moved to the next segment of pipe to inspect.

The AWWA M77 Manual: Pipeline Condition Assessment Goes Mainstream

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) will soon release the latest addition to their comprehensive Manuals of Water Supply Practice library: the AWWA Manual M77 Condition Assessment of Water Mains. Scheduled for release in mid-2018, the M77 manual will soon become the definitive guide for water utilities seeking the latest condition assessment techniques, technologies, and best practices.

Validated, peer-reviewed, and comprehensive

Modern water pipeline condition assessment technologies are relatively recent innovations in a century-old water industry. A decade ago, utilities evaluating pipelines for replacement or repair had no choice but to excavate pipe sections for visual inspection or perform “desktop condition assessment,” a method of evaluating pipes based on their design specification, age, location, and repair history of similar types of pipe to make best-guess estimatesabout the need for repair or replacement.

As a result, very few utilities had proactive, multi-year condition assessment programs — until the past few years. The high cost of replacing aging pipeline infrastructure in North America now reaching the end of its service life has triggered a wave of technology development and product innovation that is profoundly changing the industry landscape.

An array of advanced water pipeline condition assessment techniques and technologies now provide water utilities with reliable means and methods to determine the true structural status of water distribution and transmission mains. However, questions remain: which condition assessment method is best for what kind of pipe, deployed when, implemented how, and why?

Recognizing the need for industry guidance, the American Water Works Association (AWWA)—accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an approved standards-developing organization for the water industry—launched a collaborative effort to produce a new “manual of practice” for utilities seeking authoritative information about current condition assessment technologies and options: the AWWA Manual M77 Condition Assessment of Water Mains.

The new M77 manual slated for official release sometime in2018was researched, written, reviewed, and consensus-approved by AWWA volunteer committees comprised of leading industry players and top experts, including water utilities, technology providers, consulting engineers, scientists, and other industry specialists, collaborating to create an informative guide to meet the needs of today’s public and private water providers and utilities.

“The M77 Pipeline Condition Assessment manual is a landmark achievement for helping utilities seeking to learn about condition assessment and leak detection,” says Marc Bracken, Vice President & General Manager for Mueller Water Products and founder of Echologics, the leading brand of pipeline condition assessment and leak detection products and technologies.

“The AWWA M77 Condition Assessment of Water Mains manual is a landmark achievement for helping utilities seeking to learn about condition assessment and leak detection,” says Marc Bracken, Vice President & General Manager for Mueller Water Products and founder of Echologics, the leading brand of pipeline condition assessment and leak detection products and technologies.

“The M77 manual is a validated and peer-reviewed compilation of the latest condition assessment approaches, available technologies, and industry best practices,” Bracken says. “It enables utilities and owners to understand precisely what tools are available in today’s asset management toolbox, and the best ways to use those tools to assess the true condition of their pipelines and make better decisions about upgrading or replacing their water distribution infrastructure.”“The collaborative process worked very well,” says Kevin Laven, Echologics Technical Services VP, one of the co-authors of the AWWA manuals on both condition assessment (M77) and leak detection (M36). “I believe that once released, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) M77 manual will demonstrate the true value of including every technology and vendor at the table, sharing experiences of different organizations using various technologies, and analyzing data from field trials and results of third-party efforts validating the technologies.

Collaborative development

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) M77 manual is being assembled from the collaborative efforts of dozens of contributing industry authors, with chapter editors collecting, organizing, and distilling the contributed information into individual chapters devoted to specific topics. An editorial panel reviewed each chapter as it was completed, responding to comments and suggestions for improvement with specific changes and edits, and deciding each chapter’s readiness for publication by vote.

An ongoing challenge facing volunteers participating in the M77 manual development process was considering carefully all the available data before making a judgment, and being particularly careful of overreliance on anecdotal evidence—especially when building consensus among a large group of experts with differing experiences and opinions about various approaches or technologies.

“In the end, the collaborative process worked out quite well,” says Kevin Laven, Echologics Technical Services VP, one of the co-authors of the AWWA manuals on both condition assessment (M77) and leak detection (M36). “The final released version of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) M77 manual will demonstrate the true value of including every technology and vendor at the table, sharing experiences of different organizations using various technologies, and analyzing data from field trials and results of third-party efforts validating the technologies.”

“I have to commend the American Water Works Association, because they have a very well-defined process and standard of practice for producing and publishing these industry manuals,” says Dave Johnston, Echologics Director Technical Services, also one of the co-authors of the M77 chapters on condition assessment and leak detection.

“Many water providers and utilities are evaluating and using today’s advanced condition assessment and leak detection technologies, but some that may not be as technologically sophisticated and unaware of what tools are available,” Johnston says. “We hope the M77 manual will help disseminate this knowledge, and make it clear to the industry that these approaches are available, and they are industry best practices.”

Condition assessment “arrives”

Industry experts stress that no single condition assessment approach is appropriate for all situations, often describing condition assessment as an end-to-end process. The process involves initially applying the least costly and least disruptive condition assessment methods to the water distribution system to isolate potentially troublesome pipes, then successively introducing more costly and invasive condition assessment methods to identify precisely which pipes need repair or replacement.

Often illustrated in diagrams to resemble an “inverted pyramid,” the condition assessment process is similar to how medical professionals assess patients using non-invasive diagnostic technologies such as CAT scans or x-rays before turning to more invasive diagnostic methods like exploratory surgery.

“Applying noninvasive, non-disruptive Echologics condition assessment technology is a similar approach for water utilities,” says Echologics’ Kevin Laven.“Start by evaluating a pipeline using simple ‘desktop’ methods, deploy noninvasive condition assessment technologies to reveal potential trouble spots, then move to more costly and invasive methods to confirm the pipe condition and decide what to do about it.”

“The American Water Works Association (AWWA) M77 manual does not suggest following a single approach or technology to cover all situations confronting utilities because condition assessment is still a domain of growing expertise,” says Echologics’ Dave Johnston. “However, the ‘best practices’ of the future are contained within the M77 manual, and we will soon see the industry standardize and normalize those best practices based on what is the most economical, most effective, and most practical.”

The publication of the M77 manual and the standardization of best practices sends a strong signal to the industry that advanced condition assessment and leak detection technologies have officially “arrived”—but this achievement didn’t happen overnight, according to Echologics CEO Marc Bracken.

“Over the past 12 years, we have we constantly evolved, improved, and refined our products and technologies while inspecting more than 6,500 miles of water pipeline, a distance roughly equivalent to crossing the continental United States three times,” says Bracken. “Our technology has ‘arrived’ because it has been tested and proven over time by leading utilities across North America—and there are vast stretches of aging pipeline infrastructure around the world yet to be inspected.”

Largest Water Utility in Maryland Adopts ePulse® Condition Assessment Maryland Adopts ePulse® Condition Assessment

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Water asset management can be a lofty enterprise, particularly if you’re one of the largest utilities in the United States. The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), established in 1918, covers nearly 1,000 sq miles in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland and serves 1.8 million residents through approximately 475,000 customer accounts. It operates three reservoirs that combine for a typical total holding capacity of 14 billion gal; two water filtration plants with the capacity to produce 390 mgd of safe drinking water; and six wastewater treatment plants with a total capacity to handle 95.62 mgd of wastewater.

The WSSC’s buried water infrastructure comprises more than 5,657 miles of water main lines and 5,687 miles of sewer pipeline. A sizeable portion of them, however, are likely to be more than 50 years old, according to Gary Gumm, Chief Engineer of the WSSC since November 2007. “Some of the water main pipes are up to 100 years old, and some we just put in recently. But almost half of what we have is probably over 50 years old,” he said. “And they’re needing to be replaced.”

Mapping Out Asset Management

In order to stay on course and maintain its level of service despite the aging infrastructure, the WSSC develops asset management plans of all water system elements that it owns and operates, from the buried pipes and sewer systems to the vertical (aboveground) dams, plants and buildings where employees work.

“We approached the comprehensive evaluation in different ‘chunks’ according to different areas of the organization,” said Fred Pfeifer, WSSC’s Asset Strategy Manager, who also manages capital maintenance cost projections for the utility’s water infrastructure. “The buried water lines were one of the earliest and largest ‘chunks’ we attempted, and that’s about over 150,000 pipe lengths. These can be fairly long, anywhere from 200 to over 1,000 ft.”

Traditional methods of identifying pipe for replacement include examining records of past breaks, reported leaks and water quality complaints from customers. The WSSC currently relies on the decay model for asset management (AM), which forecasts pipe conditions out to 30 years based on mathematical decay curves computed from variables such as asset type, maintenance and break history, construction year and fire flow results. Condition ratings are also assigned based on the pipe’s age, material, installation, work order history and inspection history. The calculated probability of failure, combined with the potential consequences of such a failure, is used to prioritize pipes for replacement.

While a reliable industry standard, the AM decay model can still be problematic when replacing water main lines for several reasons, according to Pfeifer. “Because it’s buried, you can’t see it for yourself, and unlike sewer pipe, you can’t go inside with a camera or robot so it’s largely been hypothetical,” he said. “The ages we have are based on original industry estimates, which can be unreliable. For example, a manufacturer in 1930 would say the pipe will last for 75 years without having anything to predicate that on, and nobody ever went back to determine if that 75 was right or wrong. If it was wrong, would it be shorter or longer?”

In 2011 the WSSC was introduced to acoustic-based technologies from Echologics that could non-invasively detect leaks and inspect pipe conditions. A non-intrusive, non-disruptive technology, Echologics’ ePulse® assesses water mains through the use of acoustic sensors. It collects data that, when averaged, indicates minimum wall thickness of pipe segments and checks for leaks throughout the water distribution system. To determine the viability of the condition assessment technology, the WSSC decided to launch a pilot study of pipe sections it had already earmarked for replacement.

“It could take decades to go around collecting individual pipe samples for lab testing whenever we would replace pipe,” Pfeifer said. “We had some that we were already planning to replace when we came across the technology, so we decided to test it and compare the acoustic results with the lab tests and see if the two lined up.”

Testing the New Technology

The pilot study conducted with Echologics focused on 32 cast iron pipeline segments at varying lengths, with an average of 200 ft each, all of which were already scheduled for replacement based on previous decay model predictions. Echologics was tasked with providing the remaining wall thickness using its acoustic-based technology, while the WSSC would be interpreting the pipe’s remaining life. At the request of the WSSC, Echologics also custom-engineered a scoring system that relates the pipe’s current progress from new pipe condition (1.0) to reaching its failure thickness (5.0) to conform to WSSC’s scoring system for all assets.

The pilot’s acoustic tests were conducted during construction in spring 2012 and showed that approximately 70% of the cast iron pipes still had sufficient levels of remaining wall thickness and thus were not in need of replacement; almost 40% of the segments were indicated to be at or near their original condition. To validate these results, the WSSC performed visual and ultrasonic testing at several sites to measure the thickness of the pipe. Soil samples and pipe coupons were also obtained for testing. It was found that while the field measurements correlated with the acoustic measurements taken by Echologics, neither matched up with the original AM decay model.

“Our model was way more aggressive than it should have been,” said Pfeifer. “We thought the pipe was in really terrible shape, yet both the acoustic and the lab indicated it really wasn’t. We thought that maybe about a third to half of the pipe was in much better condition than we estimated.”

Of the 32 pipe segments analyzed, the model predictions for 9 of them, or 22%, did not match with the data obtained from the field measurements. Pfeifer explained that there were likely initial errors in the data used, and after revising the AM decay model, he and the buried water asset manager set out in 2013 to perform a second field test. “We needed a bigger sample to make sure,” he said. “First we corrected a couple errors made in our protocol the first time, since it was kind of new for everybody. And in the second test, we got a pretty good correlation with the AM decay model and the larger sample.”

The Pipe Inspection Program

Following the pilot study and subsequent field test, Pfeifer said recommendations were made to include acoustic-based condition assessment in the WSSC’s programming. “The idea is to do 50 to 100 miles a year so that we could begin to build an inventory and get ahead of the pipes and have some degree of assurance that the prediction model is correct,” he said. “We can actually kind of bring that now into alignment.”

Part of a much larger vision the utility is putting together, condition assessment is now a valuable tool for the WSSC in finding out what’s going on in the pipe you can’t see. At the WSSC, future water main replacement projects are selected based on different “levels” of inspection. The first level—the AM decay model—is able to study 100% of the assets the utility owns but ultimately needs to be verified since it is purely hypothetical and is the least reliable method within the WSSC’s toolbox. Acoustic-based condition assessment now brings the utility to more easily inspect at the second level. Since it is more costly and logistically difficult to physically dig up all pipes for inspection (considered the highest level of the inspection program), the utility utilizes condition assessment to corroborate findings amongst its inspection protocols.

Complicating this is the variation in pipes and pipe repair procedures over the years. While most of the WSSC’s assets are made of cast iron, ductile iron is now the pipe of choice despite being thinner and typically more susceptible to corrosion, according to Gumm. To counteract this, they also developed a program to ward off corrosion, enabling them to place more of the new ductile iron pipes. Pfeifer said even their cast iron inventory varies, identifying at least four different versions with different properties, meaning they will “need to get about 300 to 400 good samples of each category in order to have a valid statistical sample. So that’s kind of what we’re working toward, and it will likely be a decade-long project.”

Pipe Replacement Goals

The ultimate goal is to ensure accurate and cost-efficient pipe replacement of the aging water infrastructure. “In 1989 we actually accomplished 1.7 miles of water mains reconstructed,” Gumm said. “Our target for the year this year is 61 miles, so it’s grown quite a bit in those decades.”

He added that as more pipes reach old age, more miles of reconstruction will be needed. “Knowing which 61 miles of pipe to replace is the challenge right now,” Gumm said. “It’s very important to have the technology to replace the right pipe.” “Our customers count on us to deliver safe, clean drinking water and make smart financial decisions with their money,” said WSSC General Manager and CEO Carla A. Reid. “Using technology to prioritize water main replacement enables us to fulfill our clean water mission and gives our customers a greater return on the money they’ve invested in our pipes.”

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Inspecting and Monitoring Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP)

Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) has been reliably used for more than sixty years, and is the backbone of many large water transmission networks throughout the world. Condition assessment results of PCCP over the past decade have consistently shown that the vast majority of this pipe is in good condition and represents a low operating risk. Traditionally, PCCP system operators have had to invest in expensive, intrusive, and complicated condition assessment programs to identify the few pipe sections with distress.

Today, an increasing number of PCCP operators are turning to the ePulse® external survey level condition assessment approach that enables quickly gathering data from a greater portion of their PCCP network. This information serves as an extension and validation of desktop studies, providing operators with the confidence to conduct intrusive internal inspections during planned shutdowns, and reducing the cost of internal inspections by limiting data capture and analysis to short sections with distress.

The ePulse® condition assessment technology has been used by utilities and water operators around the world on a variety of pipe materials, and involves placing two acoustic sensors in contact with the pipe. A sound wave is induced in the pipeline and travels along the pipeline. The acoustic sensors capture the time it takes the sound wave to travel between the sensor locations. For metallic and asbestos cement pipes, this measure is used to calculate the average minimum remaining wall thickness and assign a condition grade to the pipe. For PCCP, the wave velocity is used to calculate an average structural stiffness over a section of the pipeline. For PCCP condition assessment, inspection spacing is generally 10-15 pipe sticks, or between about 150 to 200 feet.

ePulse® condition assessment for PCCP has been validated against internal inspection technologies and destructive testing to verify the accuracy of locating pipeline sections with distress.

This condition assessment approach provides an indication of general condition of the pipeline segment, and provides a valuable screening tool to help determine which portions of PCCP may be deteriorating from reduced pipe wall stiffness and higher rates of degradation, including:

Coating cracks and delamination
Corrosion of prestressing wires
Broken prestressing wires
Longitudinal cracks in the inner core
Corrosion of the steel cylinder
Leaks

The results of ePulse® survey-level condition assessment can be used as a relative measure of pipe wall condition in multiple segments of nominally similar pipe, or as part of a pipeline screening and condition assessment program that includes pipe structure and failure risk analysis and localized external inspections conducted by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH). SGH is a recognized leader with more than 25 years of research, analysis, design and condition assessment, failure investigation, and repair of PCCP.

The failure risk of distressed pipes is determined by assessing the amount of identified distress and the maximum operating pressure in the pipeline. Pipe weight, fluid weight and earth load on the pipe are also considered in the failure risk analysis. The results are summarized in the form of failure risk curves that show the maximum pressure in the pipe versus the size of distress. Each risk curve is developed for a specific pipe design and soil- cover height.

Failure risk curves can be used to identify appropriate inspection tools based on the PCCP sensitivity to distress and likelihood of leakage before rupture.

Based on the pipe properties and the applied internal pressure, some concrete pipe types such as C 301 (PCCP) and C303 (bar wrapped) can leak for extended periods prior to rupture from corrosion and perforation of the steel cylinder.

An added and unique benefit of the ePulse® condition assessment approach is that it can simultaneously analyze captured acoustic data for the presence of leaks. This increases program value by avoiding the need to invest, plan, and execute separate leak detection inspections of PCCP mains. In the event that the pipe has a high criticality, the cost-effective EchoShore®-TX permanent monitoring platform can be quickly installed and commissioned to monitor several parameters, including leakage, static pressure, and other anomalies within the pipeline.

In collaboration with Simpson–Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Echologics is performing acoustic testing and risk analysis on several miles of a critical 60- inch PCCP transmission main in New Jersey. Echologics will identify any leaks along the main, and evaluate the pipe wall stiffness along the main. SGH will perform a structural evaluation of each pipe diameter and class, provide a comparison of Echologics stiffness results, and make recommendations to identify locations where any additional inspections should be focused. During the second phase, pipe sections with distress will undergo further external inspection to evaluate the condition of the pipe and the aggressiveness of the environment, evaluate the results of non-destructive testing, and confirm the actual pipe design properties.

Inspecting Asbestos Cement Water Mains

Many utilities have concerns about operating asbestos cement pipe. It often starts with a few problematic sections experiencing failures, and an assumption is made that the entire asbestos cement inventory is in poor condition. Traditional structural testing methods involving coupon samples and physical testing are costly, intrusive, and provide a limited amount of information.

Of those asbestos cement pipes that remain in use, many have reached or even exceeded their design life. Many utilities have made the decision to remove all asbestos cement mains from service, and are in the process of prioritizing the removal sequence. Other utilities lack the funding to remove all of these mains, and are seeking to better understand which pipes need to be removed, and what time will optimize capital improvement plans and reduce operating risks.

The good news: ePulse® condition assessment programs have consistently demonstrated that the vast majority of asbestos cement pipes have significant life remaining, which enables the deferral of capital investments. With ePulse, utilities can quickly and cost-effectively inspect large portions of their water network, and pinpoint which segments of pipe are in good, moderate, or poor condition. Pipe segments of concern can be monitored using the EchoShore®-TX platform prior to scheduled replacement.

A unique benefit of ePulse technology is its ability to search for leaks at the same time as condition assessments are performed – reducing water loss and the risk of rupture.

The technology is used extensively by leading utilities in North America and Europe for asbestos cement pipe inspection because of its practical and added-value approach. With a single technology, both distribution systems and transmission main networks can be inspected.

Asbestos cement pipes gain their strength from asbestos fibers bound in a cement matrix. The asbestos fibers are extremely robust, holding up well over time. The cement matrix, however, is prone to degradation in the presence of soft (low PH) water, aggressive soils, or acidic groundwater. These acidic environments leach calcium out of the cement matrix, leaving behind a soft, weak material unable to bear a structural load.

One challenge of assessing the current structural condition of an asbestos cement main lies in the fact that its physical thickness does not degrade over time. A simple measure of the remaining wall thickness does not typically reflect its ability to bear a load. Another measure provided by ePulse, the remaining structural thickness, does however reflect this very well.

ePulse technology measures the remaining structural thickness directly. This property reflects the main pipe's ability to resist flexing in the hoop direction under variations in the internal pressure. Introducing sound into the main creates, a microscopic pressure wave, causing the pipe to flex in just this manner. By isolating the vibrations corresponding to flexing in the hoop direction, the water main's hoop stiffness (the ratio of stress to strain) can be captured. This can be expressed in an equivalent thickness of new pipe – the remaining structural thickness.

The ePulse method is fully non-invasive, and non-disruptive, requiring only physical contact with two points (or appurtenances) on the main, typically between 300 and 600 feet (100 and 200 meters) apart, resulting in a method of introducing appropriate sound into the main. It has been applied throughout the world, and verified by dozens of utilities as actually reflecting the structural condition of the main.

This method provides a single average remaining structural thickness for each segment of main tested. Because asbestos cement degrades uniformly along its length, and is not generally subjected to pitting or sectionalized corrosion like metallic pipes, this allows Echologics to calculate an accurate average of the structural integrity for a given tested section.

Condition Assessment of Metallic Mains (Cast Iron and Ductile Iron)

ePulse® assessment results provides municipalities with the current structural integrity of the pipelines and all existing leak locations. Since water operators are challenged with maintaining a large volume of metallic distribution mains, they are using cost-effective ePulse technology to assess their distribution mains. This approach can augment the typical master planning approach to verify and augment a desktop model. With assessment costs of 2.0% to 3.0% of pipe replacement, acoustic condition assessment is being used for rate- case justification, litigation questions, replacement and rehabilitation decisions, and due diligence support for water system acquisitions.

Metallic pipes are prone to corrosion, both locally, or generalized along the pipe length. Localized pitting can be caused by highly corrosive soils, stray currents, or slightly acidic water. Most of the degradation is often caused by a combination of internal corrosion, soil aggressiveness, and coating defects on the surface of the main.

Utilities around the globe use ePulse condition assessment technology to assess their metallic water mains. We have inspected metallic pipelines at over two hundred project sites, with pipe diameters ranging from 4 inches to over 24 inches.

The ePulse testing method uses acoustic principles to measure wall thickness. Sound is introduced into the main, either by flowing water out of the main in a controlled manner, or by gently tapping on the main or a fitting. This can be done at valves or hydrants. As the sound travels through the main, its behaviour is impacted by the pipe wall. The traveling sound waves capture information about the pipe wall that can be extracted through careful analysis.

In metallic pipe materials, there is a known and consistent relationship between the pipe wall's stiffness in the hoop direction and the wall thickness. By measuring the stiffness using this acoustic method, the average structural wall thickness can be calculated. In a more degraded main, the structural wall thickness is best approximated by the wall thickness at the thinnest point around the circumference of the main. Conveniently, the thinnest point around the circumference is also the likely failure point of the main, making these results appropriate for estimation of remaining wall thickness and future main break rates.

Optimizing Water Main Cleaning and Lining Programs with ePulse®

Water main cleaning and lining programs typically add several decades of additional service life. However, one particular rehabilitated water main started leaking and breaking in many different locations simultaneously — less than five years after being cleaned and lined. The costly and time-consuming cleanup and emergency pipeline replacement sent New Jersey American Water in search of a way to avoid similar situations in the future.

"What happened is that we removed the accumulated tuberculation that was essentially holding it together and ensuring pipe integrity," said engineering manager Michael Wolan of New Jersey American Water. "But the real problem was automatically assuming that a rehabilitated pipe was structurally sound. We needed hard data about the true condition of our pipes — and that's when we began investigating new technology solutions from Echologics® that would help us optimize our pipe rehabilitation programs."

The pre-1960 cast iron mains initially inspected by ePulse® were a water distribution system nightmare. The mains suffered from frequent leaks and water main breaks, along with heavy mineral-deposit tuberculation on the internal pipe wall surfaces, a condition that causes significantly decreased water volume and high levels of water discoloration, especially during higher-flow conditions.

New Jersey American Water's initial projects of the new cleaning and lining approach using ePulse technology was performed in two phases, with the level of pipe rehabilitation required based on the Remaining Service Life data that can be calculated from ePulse condition assessment results. The rehabilitation methods involved employing cement mortar lining for pipe segments with service life greater than 30 years, and a polyuria-based structural liner for pipe segments with service life less than 30 years.

The first phase of the condition assessment program involved testing 20,904 feet of 4-inch to 12-inch diameter pit cast iron mains. Phase 1 testing results revealed:

50 years or more of remaining service life in 1 pipe segment.
15 to 50 years of remaining service life in 9 pipe segments.
15 years or less of remaining service life in 23 pipe segments.

The second stage involved inspecting a total of 6,465 feet of pit cast iron mains of 18-inch to 24-inch diameter. Phase 2 testing results determined:

50 years or more of remaining service life in 11 pipe segments.
20 years or less of remaining service life in 2 pipe segments.

"After the success of the trials, we proceeded to test another 100,000 feet of New Jersey American Water pipeline using ePulse® technology in 2014, and we tested an additional 100,000 feet for them last year in 2015," said John Marciszewski of Echologics LLC. "ePulse® technology is now fully integrated with New Jersey American Water, and is used to determine following-year priorities, and anytime they think they need to do a rehabilitation program."

Among the key lessons learned from the project was that leak detection methods alone are not enough. Acoustic condition assessment should be applied where survey-level condition assessment of large networks is required to help determine which pipe lining is actually required – structural or non-structural. Selecting the wrong lining approach can results in spending too much money on pipe lining or not meeting life extension targets for the water main.

Clarksville, Tenn., utility uses ePulse® Technology to Determine the Condition of a Critical Transmission Main

When determining which pipe condition assessment technology to use, stakeholders need to consider a number of factors, including cost, convenience and accuracy. In Clarksville, Tenn., a combination of all these factors led officials to choose ePulse® acoustic pipe assessment technology by Echologics over more expensive, more invasive alternatives when they encountered corrosion in a troublesome pipeline.

In the summer of 2014, the utility faced an issue with a 24-in. Class 50 ductile iron supply line that was built into the shoulder of a highway.

“We were doing some work, and that work caused some leaks in that pipe line,” said Brian Goodwin, Chief Utility Engineer for Clarksville Gas & Water. “Our water construction crews excavated down to make the repairs and sleeve the pipe, and noticeable corrosion was discovered. It was determined the corrosion was caused by improper bedding techniques when the road was built, and the line got relocated in the shoulder of that particular roadway.”

The utility was concerned with determining the magnitude of the amount of pipe replacement that they could possibly be facing. Goodwin and Clarksville Gas and Water Operations Manger Chris Lambert knew that some kind of pipeline assessment would need to be done. “We were just looking for something to give us an idea where the limits of the corrosion were,” Goodwin said. “What were we facing? 200 ft, 500 ft, 1,000 ft, a mile? What am I needing to do?”

Working with project engineers at Burns & McDonnell, the team at Clarksville Gas & Water evaluated a number of different condition assessment technologies, but found many of the options too expensive to reasonably consider.

“I kept stressing the point that I want to do this condition assessment, but I can’t go to my general manager and say I want to put $300,000 to $500,000 into pipeline assessment when we’re looking at budget constraints of $700,000 for complete construction,” Goodwin said. “We’re talking about 40% to 50% cost for assessment, and that was a high number.”

Burns & McDonnell recommended Echologics’ ePulse condition assessment technology, a non-invasive solution that determines a pipe’s condition and detects system leaks using acoustic sound waves induced in the pipeline. It uses information about the pipe material, when the pipe was installed, the diameter of the pipe and the original wall thickness to help determine the condition of the pipe—poor, moderate or good.

“What attracted me was that it was going to tell us the limits of our corrosion—it would get me locked down to a footage, and the cost to do the testing was a budget that we could afford,” Goodwin said. “All the other technologies were in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So we worked up a contract with Echologics.”

“We were able to determine that we had about 1,000 ft that was under that corrosive condition, and that’s what needed to be replaced,” Goodwin said. “We used it as our design footage and worked up a set of plans, and we’re getting ready to bid that project.”

Using ePulse condition assessment technology to determine the extent of the corrosion damage instead of simply digging up a mile of pipe has helped Clarksville Gas & Water move the project along in a fiscally responsible manner. “What it did for us was give us a condition assessment that was cost effective, and we’re able to manage our capital planning and budgeting in a more conservative way,” Goodwin said. “For utilities, we’re always trying to fight for every dime and supply reliability. ePulse technology worked for us in the position we were in. It fit our needs. We were very fortunate to find it.”

Cutting Capital Costs with Pipeline Condition Assessment in Minnesota

Serving a population of almost 50,000 residents, many of the Minnesota city of Edina’s roads and water pipelines are “first-cycle” infrastructure built during the 1950s and 1960s, and now nearing the end of their service life. For decades, Edina’s public works department made pipe replacement decisions based on service life estimates and a “break map” history of locations of pipeline breaks and leaks. Area-wide replacement of miles of expensive water main pipe was standard procedure until Edina discovered the cost-saving benefits of pipeline condition assessment technology in 2014.

“We planned on spending somewhere between $800,000 to $1 million on water main replacement on that first project, but performing non-invasive condition assessment testing on our existing pipe enabled us to cut that cost in half,” says Chad Millner, Director of Engineering for the Edina Engineering Department. “Based on our break map data, we would have replaced the entire water main system in that area, but our condition assessment testing revealed that we only needed to replace about a third of the water main. The rest could probably make it for another few decades or until it was time to do another infrastructure replacement cycle — so we applied the cost savings to additional condition assessment testing.”

Consulting engineers retained by the Edina Engineering Department used Echologics ePulse® condition assessment technology to determine the structural integrity of Edina’s 8-inch and 10-inch ductile iron or cast-iron water mains. Nondestructive and nonintrusive, the acoustic-based ePulse technology enables utilities to assess the condition of water mains without taking mission-critical pipelines out of service.

“The ePulse technology is a proven condition assessment and leak detection tool that measures the remaining average wall thickness of water mains,” says consulting engineer Dave Hutton with Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH), an engineering firm working for Edina. “This makes ePulse technology an outstanding tool that helps utilities to extend their capital programming. Identifying older water mains that are still capable of an additional 20 or 30 years of service life is a proactive way to avoid premature and unnecessary replacement, saving capital dollars that can be applied to other projects.”

The ePulse technology involves inducing low-frequency acoustic pressure waves measured by sophisticated acoustic sensors connected to exterior pipe appurtenances or the pipe itself. The pressure waves cause the pipe wall to “flex” on a microscopic level, affecting the speed of the pressure wave detected by the acoustic sensors.

Thicker pipe walls are more resistant to this pipe flexing, causing the pressure wave to travel faster, indicating a pipe wall in good condition. Deterioration and corrosion resulting in a thinner pipe wall causes the acoustic pressure wave to travel measurably slower, identifying worn pipe and sections in danger of failure and in need of replacement. Applying advanced algorithms to the captured acoustic data enable measuring the average minimum wall thickness, which is compared to the original thickness of the pipe determine the average percentage of wall loss.

The first-year capital savings convinced the Edina Engineering Department to make condition assessment testing part of their ongoing pipeline maintenance program, typically deployed before initiating annual street reconstruction projects scheduled for summer months. Condition assessments have revealed pipelines with as much as 50% wall thickness loss, and may have contributed to Edina avoiding catastrophic water main failures for the past few years. Edina has adopted a policy of automatic replacement of any pipes with 30% or more pipe-wall loss, because even marginally reduced pipe wall integrity creates substantial risk of broken water mains from ground movement caused by frost during severe Minnesota winters.

“Condition assessment data gives us an accurate picture of the overall status of our water distribution system, and is now a critical factor in deciding where to strategically spend our capital dollars,” says Edina’s Chad Millner. “We immediately recognized its value when we were testing this technology a few years ago, and now our city council also recognizes the real bottom-line benefits of using condition assessment technology, especially in these days of limited utility budgets.”

“Smaller municipalities and utilities are embracing this technology simply because it gives them a big advantage for a very small cost,” says Dave Hutton of SEH. “Yes, you spend a little money up-front for the condition assessment testing, but you save more money on the backend by avoiding replacement costs. It’s like those car-repair TV commercials many years ago that said, ‘Pay me now — or pay me later.’”

New Jersey American Water Now Mandates Any Pipeline Marked for Rehab be Tested with Condition Assessment Prior to Selecting Lining Method

With more than half of New Jersey American Water’s distribution system installed before the 1960s, it was imperative for the utility to collect accurate data about the true condition of its pipes in order to determine the best course of action for rehabilitation. The impetus for piloting the new technology was a disruptive and costly break of one particular rehabilitated water main, which had recently being cleaned and lined. Prior to the use of ePulse® condition assessment testing, New Jersey American Water would determine which mains to rehab by looking at typical fire flows, number of breaks recorded, type of pipe and other historic data. It would then clean and line the targeted pipes without a complete understanding of the remaining service life (RSL).

“What we had found was that many times when you rehab the pipe, the tuberculation inside the pipe is primarily what’s holding it together,” said Michael Wolan, Engineering Manager for New Jersey American Water. “The graphitization of the pipe was not something that we were able to determine by our other methods, so the pipe may have been past its useful life or getting near to it when we went in to clean and line it.”

In order to better accurately determine the structural integrity of its aging pipelines and the methods for addressing them, New Jersey American Water has since integrated ePulse condition assessment to its methodology toolbox and now uses it annually. This has improved how the utility estimates the number of useful years left in its pipe segments, enabling Wolan and his team to make more educated decisions about its pipeline rehabilitation programming. “It’s giving us more data and more data is always good for making effective decisions,” Wolan said.

Since the initial 2014 pilot project, which tested pit cast iron pipeline segments between 4 to 12 inches in diameter in the state’s Millburn and Maplewood areas, New Jersey American Water has deployed the acoustic-based testing in the West Orange, Westfield, Clark, Maplewood, Chatham, North Plainfield and Hillside communities. The utility now mandates that any pipeline marked for rehabilitation be tested with ePulse technology prior to determining the lining methods for the project. New Jersey American Water does two types of lining for its cast iron mains, polyurea-based and cement mortar.

“We primarily try to have the condition assessment testing performed either in the fall of the previous year, or in the early months of the year,” Wolan said. “For example, if you look at the 2017 season for rehabilitation; cleaning and lining generally starts around April and ends by the end of October.”

New Jersey American Water periodically verifies its acoustic testing results by also sending out metallurgical samples for testing. During the pilot project in 2014, the utility had wanted to verify that the areas ePulse identified as structurally deficient were indeed such. The physical pipe samples proved to align with the data collected by Echologics, and the utility continues to find similar results today.

Currently New Jersey American Water employs acoustic-based testing for its cast iron pipes, and recently performed a first pilot of transite (asbestos cement, or AC) pipe testing in its coastal north section district. Similar to the cast iron validation testing, coupons will be taken to verify Echologics results. The technology has performed well with AC pipelines in other cities, according to John Marciszewski, Director of Business Development for Echologics, and its results have matched up with the results of phenolphthalein dye tests that reveal remaining structural thickness.

Since the 2014 pilot, which tested roughly about 20,000 feet of cast iron mains, the utility has tested a further 200,000 feet in New Jersey American Water’s North delivery area, and 100,000 feet in the South delivery area, said Marciszewski. The utility now tests generally between 50,000 and 80,000 feet of pipe segments in any given year.

Newark, Del. Uses Condition Assessment Technology to Determine How to Proceed with Pipe Lining Project.

Municipalities are constantly faced with the need to do more with less. Public works departments must routinely make the most out of limited budgets, so their projects must be completed both quickly and cost-effectively. Many utilities will consider lining existing water mains rather than replacing it, as the cost savings can be significant and the work can be completed with minimal disruption to neighborhoods and traffic.

However, lining is not always the best solution for certain pipeline problems, so it is crucial for municipalities to learn as much as they can about the condition of their pipes before embarking on a rehabilitation program. Echologics’ ePulse® acoustic condition assessment technology is one tool that can be used to determine the proper course of action, as officials in Newark, Del., can attest.

“We’ve had an increasing number of main breaks per year since we started keeping records in the 1970s,” said Tom Coleman, P.E., Director of Public Works and Water Resources for the City of Newark. “The number of breaks that we have per year has approximately doubled.”

Coleman’s department has developed a plan for addressing its pipe problems, but its progress is impaired by the cost of implementation. “Starting in 2014, we began a more aggressive water main replacement program,” he said. “Our goal, if we were to replace on service life, would be a mile and a half a year – approximately 1% of the pipe in the ground. Replacement costs have been rising faster than inflation and it’s going to become more difficult to get the money together to hit our target. We wanted to investigate whether relining with cement mortar could be a possible tool in the toolbox to extend the life of our buried pipe assets.”

If a pipe is found to be suitable for lining rather than replacement, the cost and hassle of addressing the problem can be significantly reduced.

“Replacement is very disruptive,” said John Marciszewski, Director of Business Development for Echologics. “You have to dig up a whole street. Cleaning and lining is pretty much trenchless. You can go in and have somebody’s water turned back on in a day or two. It’s very different than when you’re dealing with a replacement project. It takes less planning [and] it’s more environmentally green.”

But deciding whether or not a pipe can be lined is far easier said than done. A pipe’s condition needs to be thoroughly assessed in order to determine if the pipe has the requisite structural stability to qualify for lining rather than replacement. Liners can also be either non-structural (such as cement mortar, which are lower cost) or structural (fully or semi), which come at a higher cost but extend pipe life by several more years. This is why Coleman and his team decided to deploy ePulse acoustic condition assessment technology to help find out exactly what is going on with the city’s aging water mains.

ePulse is a non-invasive acoustic technology that assesses a pipe’s condition, detects leaks, and estimates the pipeline’s remaining service life. After the Echologics team performs an assessment of the pipe, the amount of structural wall thickness left is determined. “We do some estimates based on the amount of structural material left to find out how long that pipe has to live,” Marciszewski said. “Based on that, these utilities will determine the most appropriate cleaning and lining technology that’s required. This could range from a non-structural liner like cement mortar, to a fully structural liner like 3M Scotchkote.”

Coleman and his team chose to examine pipes in a number of different city locations using ePulse technology. “We worked with John from Echologics and put together a project where we looked at our most critical pipes, which were pipes under major roads, railroad tracks and rivers,” Coleman said. “We also went out and did a few lines that we thought would be representative of the neighborhoods that they’re in.”

All told, the Echologics team assessed the condition of 12,403 ft of 6- to 12-in. pipe, most of which was pit-cast or spin-cast iron, as well as one segment of steel pipe.

The Echologics report revealed that much of the pipe tested in Newark was found to have too much structural degradation to be suitable for non-structural lining. This was not what Coleman hoped would be found, but he said he was glad to know for certain what was going on in the city’s pipes rather than relying on guesswork.

“It gave us some really good data. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any that said, ‘Let’s do some lining,’” said Coleman of the assessment’s results. “Our pipe looks to be in worse condition than we had hoped. Two-thirds of the wall thickness has corroded away on some of our residential streets.”

Coleman said these were the areas where they had severe and frequent discoloration of water and very low fire flows, so there was anticipated tuberculation in the pipe. “We were hoping enough would be left that we could line it with cement mortar, but the results pretty much confirmed what we had anticipated,” he said.

In fact, the Echologics analysis revealed some information about some of Newark’s pipes that surprised even Coleman. “In one neighborhood, we inspected two streets that we thought were built in one direction, but it appears that they were built in the other direction, with two different batches of pipe,” he said. “On Wilson Road, over 60% of the wall thickness had been lost; the first pipe segment on Sypherd Drive was also about 60%. But then the next two pipe segments in Sypherd were had no measurable loss, so they must have changed from an unlined pipe to a lined pipe mid-block, and we were able to capture that with the Echologics report.”

Las Vegas Utility Refuses to Gamble with Water Mains

When most people think of Las Vegas, they likely think of the casinos, hotel resorts, concerts and shows and everything else that makes the Nevada city the “entertainment capital of the wWhen most people think of Las Vegas, they likely think of the casinos, hotel resorts, concerts and shows and everything else that makes the Nevada city the “entertainment capital of the world.” Few will give consideration to the approximately 4,500 miles of underground pipe that provide water service to the growing city and its surrounding areas. Maintaining that infrastructure is the job of the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) and, for more than a decade, the utility has been using advanced condition assessment and leak detection technologies to help keep that pipe in reliable, working order.

“We move a lot of water through our system,” said Bronson Mack, the LVVWD’s public outreach manager. “Because we are a desert community, we average about 300 million gallons a day of production, which can ramp up to about 400 million gallons during peak periods.”

This being Las Vegas, the utility must also consider more than just the area’s residents.

“We serve approximately 1.2 million people, and another 40 million annual visitors,” Mack said. “It’s the equivalent of a small city coming to Las Vegas every single weekend, and we have to meet their water needs too.”

Because so much water is constantly moving through the system, it is imperative that the utility’s pipe remains in working order. To that end, LVVWD has been proactive in researching, trialing and implementing advanced technology, including several solutions from Echologics, to help the utility learn as much as possible about its pipes.

The relationship between LVVWD and Echologics began shortly after the creation of Echologics in 2003.

The water utility initially purchased Echologics’ acoustic correlator, which helped it locate leaks in various types of pipes. A few years later, Echologics introduced ePulse® condition assessment, an acoustic technology that determines a pipe’s average minimum remaining wall thickness and alerts users to leaks that exist in the tested length of pipe. LVVWD was quick to put the ePulse condition assessment technology to use on the Las Vegas Strip.

“The first condition assessment project that we did, in 2008, was three miles of 24-in., 18-in. and 16-in. steel mortar lining-coated pipe,” said Ryan Benner, senior maintenance engineer, LVVWD. “We’ve had a few failures over the years, so we decided to do a full inspection using condition assessment technology. Instead of replacing three miles, currently we’ve only had to replace about 2,500 feet based on the results.”

The utility was also among the first to adopt a new Internet of Things (IoT) permanent leak monitoring system, which was deployed along the Las Vegas Strip in order to help gauge the condition of the pipe that had been assessed using acoustic condition assessment technology.

“This new pipe monitoring gave them the luxury of determining when they needed to intervene with the pipe before it fails and becomes an expensive repair,” Charlie Fricke said. “It was an interesting application of the pipe monitoring system. First, they identify areas of potential concern using condition assessment, and then monitor critical sections to alert them to when a leak develops so they can intervene quickly.”

Today, Echologics and LVVWD continue to work together to make sure that Las Vegas’ water system functions as efficiently as possible.

Now armed with more knowledge about the condition of its pipes, LVVWD is able to more effectively serve its customers and provide cost savings. The utility can now focus its repairs and replacement efforts on facilities that require attention immediately, deferring future replacements or repairs until necessary. Pipeline monitoring provides the LVVWD the confidence to maximize asset life.

“This information gives us the ability to schedule a lot of these repairs, as opposed to doing them on an emergency basis, and that reduces customer impacts,” Mack said. “It keeps them in water service during their critical business hours, so that we’re only taking them out of water service to make these repairs at a time that has been coordinated. That gives them some reliability—we as a water agency aren’t just going to go out there and shut off their water service randomly.”

Mack believes water utilities everywhere stand to benefit from using the latest technologies to assess the conditions of their pipe and develop a more efficient replacement program. “Every water agency has tens of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars in assets, that they have to maintain in order to continually meet their communities’ water demands,” he said. “That is a huge responsibility. Having that level of data really helps us to make informed decisions and be financially responsible to our customers.”

ePulse® Discovery™ and ePulse® Optimize™

ePulse® Discovery™ Condition Assessment Service and ePulse® Optimize™ Condition Assessment Service

Pipe Diameters

Pipe Materials

Typical Applications

How ePulse® Technology Works

For Distribution Mains

For Transmission Mains

Accurate and Actionable Information

Sample Condition Assessment Results

Simultaneous Leak Detection

Working with ePulse® Technology in the Field

Echologics Field Vehicles

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The AWWA M77 Manual: Pipeline Condition Assessment Goes Mainstream

Largest Water Utility in Maryland Adopts ePulse® Condition Assessment Maryland Adopts ePulse® Condition Assessment

Mapping Out Asset Management

Testing the New Technology

The Pipe Inspection Program

Pipe Replacement Goals

Inspecting and Monitoring Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP)

Inspecting Asbestos Cement Water Mains

Condition Assessment of Metallic Mains (Cast Iron and Ductile Iron)

Optimizing Water Main Cleaning and Lining Programs with ePulse®

Clarksville, Tenn., utility uses ePulse® Technology to Determine the Condition of a Critical Transmission Main

Cutting Capital Costs with Pipeline Condition Assessment in Minnesota

New Jersey American Water Now Mandates Any Pipeline Marked for Rehab be Tested with Condition Assessment Prior to Selecting Lining Method

Newark, Del. Uses Condition Assessment Technology to Determine How to Proceed with Pipe Lining Project.

Las Vegas Utility Refuses to Gamble with Water Mains

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ePulse® Discovery™ and ePulse® Optimize™

ePulse® Discovery™ Condition Assessment Service and ePulse® Optimize™ Condition Assessment Service

Pipe Diameters

Pipe Materials

Typical Applications

For Distribution Mains

For Transmission Mains

Accurate and Actionable Information

Sample Condition Assessment Results

Simultaneous Leak Detection

Echologics Field Vehicles

Field Equipment

Acoustic Sensor Attachment

Data Capture

Mapping Out Asset Management

Testing the New Technology

The Pipe Inspection Program

Pipe Replacement Goals

We’re Here to Help.