Sometimes what you can't see can hurt you, or at least increase costs.

Town workers found a major water leak while replacing a section of pipe on High Street in recent weeks. The work was part of ongoing upgrades to the water system in the area of Bayview Ave.

The leak is estimated to have been spilling some 350,000 litres of treated water per day, according to Town Manager Melvin Keeping. The leak was in a section of old pipe that was by-passed by the newly installed pieces.

Readings at the water treatment plant helped identify the amount of water being lost through the leak and that the by-pass solved the problem.

The leak was not previously detected as the old pipe was some 30 feet underground and the leaking water was likely directed away by nearby culverts and drainage.

Mr. Keeping said they were baffled in January that the town was nearly shut down by the leak that occurred that month. The town declared a state of emergency while searching for that leak, which robbed large sections of the community of all or nearly all water pressure for several days.

Once the leak was found, Mr. Keeping said officials couldn't understand how a problem of its size could have such a detrimental impact on the town's water system. They suspected a second major leak somewhere in the system.

When water from leaks comes to the surface, it makes issues easy to locate said Mr. Keeping. When it flows away, as it did in this case, it's much harder to find the problem.

For example, one line in Port aux Basques runs under the water between Grand Bay and Grand Bay West. Mr. Keeping said a leak there would be impossible to see visually.

That's one of the reasons the town manager is happy Port aux Basques is getting new leak detection equipment worth about $62,000.

Tenders for the equipment were opened earlier this month. The successful bidder will supply the equipment and training for several town workers.

Mr. Keeping said they have already picked out several areas of town to test where leaks are thought to be possible.

"All systems have leaks," explained Mr. Keeping, adding that even a few minor leaks can add up to a lot of water being lost from the distribution piping. That increases costs for the town as the water being wasted had been treated and pumped.

editor@gulfnews.ca