SFPUC’s Use of Innovative Technology to Reduce Salt Water Intrusion

The inability to locate infiltration and inflow (I/I) using traditional inspection methods like closed-circuit television (CCTV) or visual inspection is a problem for many cities and municipalities.In an effort to eliminate tidal infiltration to increase available recycled water, reduce pumping costs, and therefore lower treatment costs and reduce its overall carbon footprint, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has chosen to utilize an innovative technology referred to as Electro Scanning Inspection to automatically locate and measure all pipe defects in gallons per minute (gpm) or liters per second (lps). By employing this new innovation in conjunction with legacy methodologies, SFPUC has determined that a more comprehensive rehabilitation can be made, including the certification of new pipe installations.This paper discusses the background for using innovation to help better identify and rank its critical sewers, why Electro Scanning Inspection was chosen and how it works, as well as initial findings.