Leak identification in a water distribution network using sparse flow measurements

•Linear programming technique balances the flow network and matches available measurements—capable of handling large systems.•Algorithm invokes a “leak-out” on a pipe section if there is no other way to achieve a balance.•Progressive escalation of the “integrity” of found leak locations to uncover other possible locations.•Automatic overlaying of a sequence of operating “snapshots” to progressively narrow down the range of possible leak locations.

A linear programming technique is proposed to balance the flows in a network, matching flow measurements where available. Where necessary, a “leak-out” flow is invoked on a pipe section in order to achieve the balance. Usually, multiple solutions are possible, and these are sounded out by progressively increasing an integrity weight for each pipe section. A feature of the method is that it overlays “snapshots” of the network at a series of points in time, in order to progressively narrow down the part of the network which can commonly account for all observations.