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A waterproofing system that incorporates a network of sensors to detect minute breaches in reservoirs could save the water industry millions of pounds, according to its UK developer.

The Hylam IQ system has been dubbed the ‘intelligent membrane’ by thermoplastics specialist DRC Polymers, which has just completed its first installation at a reservoir in Cumbria.

Managing director Ken Bray claimed the waterproofing system could significantly cut the cost of pinpointing and repairing leaks in reservoirs — an expensive and disruptive process.

The system’s sensors attach to the walls of a reservoir at regular intervals. These are connected by wires to a terminal and are overlaid with a conventional industry standard waterproof membrane which is laminated with a conductive polypropylene. This laminate has a known resistivity which makes the system very accurate.

Every 3000m2 of surface, an injector plate is attached which engineers use to charge the surface of the membrane during testing. To test its integrity a voltage is applied through the plates which gives a potential reading across all of the sensors. The voltage is adjusted to make sure all sensors are giving the same reading. If the membrane is breached by water, current will pass through to the conductive laminate and be detected as an irregular electrical reading from the sensors in the affected area.