YOUNGSTOWN - The Youngstown Water Department is asking the city council to spend $55,000 on equipment designed to quickly locate water line breaks.

Included on Wednesday’s council agenda is a request to purchase 50 Sensus Acoustical Monitoring Devices equipped with radios.

According to the manufacturer’s website, the sensors are deployed along water distribution networks and uses sound waves to monitor lines and localize leaks.

The sensors activate overnight, listening to the distribution system when ambient noise is at its lowest, and then report flow conditions back to the utility.

Once flow conditions are reported back through the network, data can be analyzed to determine if a leak exists.

Crews can quickly investigate and make repairs before they become costly problems.

Youngstown distributes approximately 16 million gallons per day through 750 miles of pipelines to residents of Youngstown, Austintown, Boardman, Canfield Township, and Liberty and sells bulk water to Mineral Ridge, Jackson, and Milton Townships, and the Cities of Girard and Canfield.