HONOLULU – Prevention goes a long way.
Through the help of Hawaii Energy, the Department of Water Supply, County of Hawaii, was able to purchase more than 200 noise data loggers to help identify hidden leaks in the county’s underground water distribution system.
The new noise data logging technology will allow DWS to detect invisible leaks early, resulting in an estimated annual energy savings of more than $265,000 and an estimated annual water savings of 700,000 gallons.
“Our statewide water system requires a large amount of energy in order to treat and pump water to customers. The ability to detect leaks early will not only help save in energy consumption, but it will also allow us to be better stewards of our natural resources,” said Brian Kealoha, executive director of Hawaii Energy. “By supporting programs like this, our goal is to make energy efficiency more accessible and more affordable to families and businesses throughout the state.”
In addition to helping with the initial purchase of the data loggers, Hawaii Energy presented a $121,258 energy rebate to DWS at its Water Board Meeting on Wednesday. Hawaii Energy began working with the DWS in 2014 in support of their water-leak detection program.
“The new noise data loggers will allow us to find more leaks by improving our coverage of the water distribution system. Each leak that is found and repaired reduces the runtime of our pumping equipment, which reduces our energy use,” said Warren Ching, energy management analyst of the DWS. “We are currently targeting energy intensive areas that are prone to leakage. This number of loggers could not have been purchased without the help of Hawaii Energy.”