Background of K9 Pipeline Testing

Picture this, you have 150 miles of sub-surface pipeline and its leaking.

Do you dig up the entire 150 miles and replace with a new pipeline?

How can you precisely pinpoint the leak and replace just the damaged section?

Enter the Pipeline Leak Detection K9!

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A major and ongoing problem for pipeline operations is the inability of present-day technology to precisely find leaks in the transportation system.  The problem has two major components: the first challenge is establishing that the pipeline is in-fact leaking; the second challenge is accurately locating the source of the leak.

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Although conventional leak detection methodologies have enjoyed some degree of success, none have shown the precision and consistency of locating pin-hole leaks, particularly in sub-surface infrastructure, as a K9's nose.  In many cases underground pipelines are determined to be leaking only after material mass-balance has indicated a substantial loss of product or when material escaping from a leak rises to the soil surface and is visually detected.  In both cases a lack of precision can result in appreciable pollution as well as high economic costs incurred through the direct loss of product.  Overall lack of precision in conventional methods may impose substantial penalties via the increased costs of equipment and manpower to excavate over a generalized area while attempting to pinpoint a leak.

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​Using a method developed in the 1990s by Imperial Oil and Exxon Mobil,

our K9s are trained to quickly and precisely locate leaks in pipelines and similar environments.​​