How Newark is Using Advanced Free-Floating Technology to Inspect Aging Water Infrastructure

Newark Water & Sewer personnel extracting the SmartBall (at the bottom in green) at Branch Brook Park, August 14, 2024. Courtesy of Newark Water & Sewer.

In the face of maintaining a complex network of water infrastructure, the City of Newark is making proactive strides to strengthen the water system for future generations. 

Over 100 years ago, Newark conveyed its first water main distribution pipes to thousands of homes and businesses. Today, the city is home to about 1000 total miles of pipes that provide water and wastewater services to Newark residents. That is a lot of infrastructure to maintain. 

From replacing lead service lines in a nationally recognized program to the state-of-the-art upgrades at its water treatment plant, Newark continues to embark on ambitious infrastructure projects to deliver clean water to over 330,000 residential customers and hundreds of small businesses and large institutions. 

Several water main breaks this year prompted Newark engineers to find new solutions to inspect water pipes before problems occur. The city is testing out new technologies that can tell us more about our pipes on a higher level by directly exploring the inside. 

The most recent technology explored is acoustic monitoring with Xylem’s SmartBall® device, which utilizes acoustic or sound waves to detect small leaks and gas pockets in pipes. In collaboration with Xylem, Newark recently deployed the SmartBall at a 60-inch main pipe in a three-mile area of North Newark that had shown signs of damage earlier this year. 

“You can perform pipe inspections without any water service interruption to customers”, said Zehra Karim, Supervising Engineer at the City of Newark. Such an advantage avoids service shut- offs, which would prove difficult during peak water demand in the summer season. 

During the inspection, the SmartBall traversed at an average speed of five to six feet per second, sending pings at eight GPS tracking locations. In just over six hours, the SmartBall safely completed its journey and collected about four gigabytes of data on leak damage locations within the main. The device can detect leaks as small as a pinhole, which is useful for monitoring even the most minute damages.  

After the inspection, the data is analyzed and summarized in a comprehensive report that assesses the magnitude of damages found. 

“The report will give us a better understanding of where we may perform leak repairs before it appears on the surface and causes more damage to surrounding utilities, roadways, or private properties”, says Ms. Karim. Depending on the material of the water main, such as cast iron, PVC, or steel, Newark can begin creating a repair plan.  

“90% of the inspection is planning”, said Ms. Karim. Part of that planning is speaking to other water suppliers and nearby cities about the increased flow needed to move the SmartBall efficiently through the pipes. For instance, the neighboring city of Elizabeth, which is in part a Newark water customer, had to be notified of the flow being increased to 20 MGD, 35% more than a typical day’s flow.  

“This inspection gave Newark a chance to collaborate with neighboring communities and their water supply managers to prepare the existing infrastructure and perform this inspection”, said Ms. Karim. With the success of this first trial, Newark can begin scheduling more pipe inspections across the city. 

Another technology the municipality is exploring is Xylem’s PipeDiver® condition assessment platform, which pinpoints pipe wall loss, corrosion, cracks, and other indications of wall distress in greater detail using ultramagnetic data.  

“If there are a significant number of leaks found in the pipeline, Newark may decide to perform a more in-depth leak assessment of the pipelines using the PipeDiver tool before any infrastructure repair strategy is planned”, says Ms. Karim.  

Free-swimming technologies like these are precise and data-driven, which allows the Newark Water Utility to swiftly identify the work ahead on the path of reinforcing our water system. 

Newark’s water infrastructure is a tremendous asset. It is a pipeline to thriving communities and the backbone of public health and the economy. As with any asset, it must be managed and taken care of—and Newark is doing just that. 

Water utilities can no longer react to issues that arise from aging water infrastructure—instead, proactive measures and thorough preparation are key to maintaining a safe and durable water system. Technologies like the ones used by Newark can help us get there.