Intelligent Water Leakage Management

Investing in Impact

P4G has provided the partnership with US $100,000 in grant funding. 

The partnership piloted the technology in two sites in Hai Duong city in Vietnam. Water leaks were identified using listening technology attached to smartphones. The sounds were transferred to the cloud where experts analyzed the data and recommended actions for fixing the leaks. This removed the current barrier of having an on-the-ground trained workforce first go to the site of the leak to understand the cause. Instead, work teams were deployed to sites for fixing the leaks, with the initial expert recommendations coming from remote teams. 

The new technology helped reduce water leakage by 13% and 19% in two of the test sites. 

The partnership experienced some delays due to COVID-19 when it was not possible to conduct field tests. Additional challenges included the need for users to have computer and leak sound analysis skills. The partners also found that ambient noise affected the collection the data. 

Advantages of this model included the convenience of the device, which is stable, compact and compatible with smartphone chargers. It also reduced the amount of time it took to identify and fix leaks, which led to reduced water loss. 

The partners have signed an agreement to continue the business model and will expand this technology into two new water companies with high water loss ratios in the cities of Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa. This technology from the business partner WI.Plat has been applied domestically in cities in the Republic of Korea, and internationally in Turkey, Indonesia and other countries. 

This partnership helped confirm the application of cloud-based technology as an efficient tool for water leakage management and was a tangible example of how technology and learning can be shared across regions – in this case between the Republic of Korea and Vietnam.