T-Mobile has teamed up with Fluid Conservation Systems (FCS), a company that has been in the business of leak detection for decades. FCS picked T-Mobile to power its smart acoustic monitoring systems, which are used by water utilities across the US to detect and fix leaks before they get out of hand.
These aren’t just any leaks, either. We are talking about millions of gallons of clean drinking water being lost every year due to aging infrastructure and underground cracks that are tough to find.
Water utilities across the country struggle with aging infrastructure, hidden leaks, and limited resources. Our acoustic leak detectors, connected by T-Mobile, give utilities real-time data to accurately pinpoint leaks before they become costly problems. We’re essentially listening for leaks overnight, so our customers can wake up each morning knowing exactly where to focus their efforts.
– Beth Powell, President of Fluid Conservation Systems, July 31, 2025
The scale of the problem is massive. The American Society of Civil Engineers says over 33 trillion gallons of water are lost every year due to failing infrastructure. That is enough to supply New York City for more than 91 years. Seriously. Let that sink in.
FCS has been ahead of the curve here – it started using acoustic tech 40 years ago. Their leak-detecting loggers are rugged, cellular-connected sensors that attach to the outside of water pipes. These things “listen” for noise patterns that signal a leak and thanks to T-Mobile‘s network, they can send that data from anywhere – even remote and mountainous areas that are usually hard to reach.
Such small cellular-connected acoustic sensors help detecting leaks. | Image credit – T-Mobile
This is a huge step up from how leak detection used to work. Before, utilities had to send workers with microphones to check hydrants one by one. Now, those same sensors just send everything automatically, saving time, money and most importantly, a whole lot of water.And sure, this isn’t the kind of flashy tech that makes headlines. But this is exactly the kind of thing that shows how important smart devices – and the networks that support them – really are.
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