Water system inspection and maintenance

Regularly inspect equipment. Housekeeping inspection of taps, toilets and drain plugs. Technician inspection of valves, pipes, pipe-insulation, aerators, and equipment such as heat-exchangers. Repair or replace damaged equipment.

Water systems and equipment should be inspected at least every six months, including all fittings (Business Link, 2011). Points for particular attention include:

• toilet cisterns
• all taps
• basin drain plugs
• urinal flush-control systems
• HVAC circuits (especially heat exchangers)

On small premises, inspections may be performed by managerial or cleaning staff. Cleaning staff should be trained to identify and report leaks during the cleaning routine. Leaking toilets (e.g. flapper valves) are common but difficult to detect. Food colouring may be added to the cistern water to identify slow leaks into the toilet bowl. Water meters can also be checked late at night (~00:00) and early in the morning (~05:00) to identify unexpected water consumption during low water use periods that may indicate leakage.

On larger premises, visual inspection of accessible fittings may need to be supplemented with more sophisticated inspection to detect leaks within extensive piping networks. Methods for such inspection include the use of leak detector cables and highly absorbent sensing tape to detect small leakages (EC, 2012).

Automatic leak detection systems based on detector cables, or 'water fuses' that cut-off water when unexpected flows occur, may also be installed alongside water piping during construction or extensive renovation of large premises. Water fuses can detect low continuous flows down to two litres per hour.

Environmental benefits

• Water savings due to discovering of leaks

Reduced costs

Water flow rates and daily/annual wastage from different types of leak