Reliable leak detection in water distribution networks is essential for reducing water losses, costs, and operational risks. Here, we present an improved semisupervised pressure-based algorithm that enables near-real-time leak detection through two key features: (1) automation of sensor selection and retraining times, avoiding manual tuning and prior knowledge of leak conditions, and (2) an adaptive, nonparametric cumulative sum (CUSUM) with a self-starting scheme, robust to noisy and non-normal data. Tested on a real-world network data set with synthetic nonoverlapping leaks, the algorithm detects all leakages without false alarms, demonstrating strong potential for practical deployment.
Steins et al. (Wed,) studied this question.