Monthly totals hide when the water
moved.
A slow leak can sit inside ordinary monthly variation for months. Interval readings
expose the timing and shape of the flow, making an unexplained pattern visible before it becomes a
dramatic bill or visible damage.
- A monthly reading can show that consumption rose; it cannot show whether the change began at 03:00
on a Tuesday.
- A site-specific quiet-hours baseline separates expected overnight use from flow that needs
investigation.
- Cleaning, process use, irrigation, occupancy, tank filling and meter faults must be ruled out
before calling the signal a leak.
Three shapes that deserve a closer look.
The pattern narrows the investigation. It does not diagnose the pipe by itself; schedules,
occupancy and the site’s normal minimum flow provide the context.
- Continuous base flow: the curve never returns to the site’s expected minimum
during quiet hours - often a sign of a constantly running outlet or hidden loss.
- Repeated pulses: similar bursts recur on a schedule - possibly a valve, tank,
cleaning cycle, irrigation system or intermittent fault.
- Sudden step change: the baseline rises and stays higher from a specific interval -
use the timestamp to connect the change to work, occupancy or a new failure.
From suspicious flow to verified closure.
Detection creates value only when somebody owns the next action. The same meter that
raises the exception should also prove that the investigation or repair returned flow to the expected
baseline.
- Detect: compare the interval against the correct schedule and site baseline, then
attach the chart and affected meter to the alert.
- Assign: send the exception to a named person with a deadline and the first checks
to perform.
- Verify: close the task only after the reading returns to normal - or after the
team records the legitimate use that explains it.
See water leak
detection →
Run a safe overnight check before you automate
it.
Pick a night when expected use is known. Record the meter at the start and end of the
quiet period, then investigate any meaningful movement instead of declaring a leak from one number.
- Confirm expected overnight activities: occupants, cleaners, irrigation, production, tanks and
scheduled plant.
- Record the start time, end time and meter values; calculate the change and the average flow over
the interval.
- Repeat the check to establish a baseline, then instrument the meter if continuous coverage would
prevent repeated manual rounds.
Turn two readings into an investigation
threshold.
An empty office reads 184.320 m³ at 23:00 and 184.680 m³ at 05:00. That is 0.360 m³ -
360 litres - over six hours, or an average of 60 litres per hour.
- First, confirm that no cleaning, irrigation, tank filling or planned use occurred during the
interval.
- Next, repeat the check and inspect the closest submeter or branch to narrow the boundary.
- If the unexplained base flow persists, assign an investigation and use the post-repair reading to
verify closure.
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