Two water utilities in Negros Occidental received free leak detection equipment funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation Inc., as part of the Holistic Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Management Program managed by the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI).
AIDFI, represented by its president, Engr. Christopher Taclobos, delivered two AQS-Sense Hydrophones and two sets of water leak detectors each to the Murcia Water District (MWD) and the E. B. Magalona Water Works (EBMWW) on March 24.
MWD General Manager Engr. Winston Makilan and E. B. Magalona Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon received the equipment.
Also present during the ceremony were AIDFI personnel led by AIDFI Enterprises CEO Che Idzenga, MWD personnel headed by the Engineering and Construction/Production and Water Quality Division Manager Engr. Paul Oñas and EBMWW personnel headed by Engr. Fernie Torrechiva.
After the turnover of the equipment, AIDFI technical personnel and their counterparts in each water utility installed the AQS-Sense Hydrophones in Brgy. Cansilayan, Murcia and in Brgy. Tabigue, E. B. Magalona to initiate the leak detection activities as part of the Holistic NRW Program.
AQS-Sense hydrophones are specialized, high-sensitivity acoustic sensors designed for fixed, daily monitoring of water distribution and transmission networks to detect leaks, particularly in challenging pipe materials like PVC, PE and large-diameter pipes, a press release from AIDFI said Sunday, March 29.
They function by tapping directly into the water, typically via valves, to record acoustic signals, which are then analyzed to pinpoint leaks.
Basically, these hydrophones function as “underwater microphones” that, when connected to the Aquarius Spectrum’s cloud platform, provide a proactive, automated, and accurate leak management solution, reducing non-revenue water (NRW).
The sensors record the acoustic profile within the pipe, automatically sending this data to a cloud-based server. They automatically perform correlation between pairs of sensors to accurately identify the specific location of a leak within a few meters. The system analyzes the collected sound files to identify, classify and estimate the size of leaks.
The NRW program, which runs until the end of 2026, aims to assist five water utilities in Negros Occidental in crafting a Comprehensive and Holistic NRW Plan to properly manage and minimize their NRW, translating to more water available to more consumers, more revenues for the water utility, and improved services to the consumers, the press release said.*
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