The Problem
A BC manufacturing plant had unexplained 8,000 L/day cooling tower makeup-water demand. The pipe network ran 400m across site, partly underground.
Detection Method
Acoustic correlation survey of the entire cooling loop during a 6-hour maintenance shutdown. Identified a leak at a buried joint near raw material storage.
Results
Corroded joint on 100mm PVC supply line repaired within the shutdown window. Post-repair: 7,500 L/day reduction, $18K/year saved in water and chemicals.
“We'd chased that leak for 3 months. The correlator found it in 90 minutes — repair fit right into our scheduled shutdown.”