When is hydrant extraction riskiest?
The primary purpose of hydrants is firefighting, though a water distribution network isn't designed to fight major bushfires or forest fires.
Rather, the system is designed to hold a minimum pressure on a high demand day for localized firefighting.
Communities rely on hydrant flows to support emergency response, which is why they matter.
Their secondary function is a convenient off-take, which risks unregulated use, and with it losses in revenue and social license.
Yet hydrant extraction is one of the most overlooked events in a network.
Hydrant extraction happens for all sorts of reasons, from firefighting and pipe flushing to construction draws and dam filling, but most utilities have no summary view of it.
A few utilities monitor hydrant use directly, but most rely on permits with little visibility beyond that.
Spotting hydrant extraction depends on someone watching the right flow trace at the right moment.
SensorClean's hydrant analytics analyze existing SCADA data to surface the extraction automatically.
The clip below shows seasonal extraction across an example subsystem, when it happens and how much.
It presents the big hydrant days and times, and quantifies the larger draws. Some of those draws are paid for, and some are not.
With the timing, volumes and payment picture in view, operators can move from reactive monitoring to proactive hydrant management across their network.
Video of SensorClean’s hydrant module which surfaces hidden extraction, quantifies peak draws for hydraulic model simulations, and supports proactive hydrant management.