Integrity Testing for Water Tanks and Reservoirs

Verifying waterproofing integrity where it matters most

Reservoirs and water tanks are built for one purpose: to contain liquid safely. Whether used for drinking water, firefighting, industrial processes, or wastewater, they must remain watertight for decades. Yet most waterproofing systems are never fully verified before commissioning. Once filled, locating a defect becomes costly and time-consuming.

Electronic Leak Detection (ELD), also called Electrical Leak Location (ELL), provides a precise, non-destructive way to confirm waterproofing integrity.
It works by applying a small electrical potential across the membrane to identify points where current can pass through a defect.
For the system to work, there must be a conductive layer beneath the membrane. Concrete, compacted soil, or protection boards are not conductive, so without conductivity, testing is impossible.

The solution: Controlit PK

Controlit PK is a conductive geotextile designed to provide the necessary conductivity under non-conductive waterproofing membranes.
Once installed, it forms a permanent and uniform conductive layer that allows any ELD or ELL method to be used on the waterproofing surface before the tank or reservoir is filled.

When testing equipment is applied to the surface, even the smallest breach allows current to flow to the conductive layer, immediately revealing the exact location of the defect. The process is accurate, fast, and completely non-destructive.

Compliance with international standards

Controlit PK supports all major standards for electrical integrity testing:

ASTM D7240 – High-Voltage Spark Testing
ASTM D7953 – Arc Testing
ASTM D7852 – Use of Conductive Geotextiles for Leak Location Surveys
ASTM D8265 – Dipole and covered-liner methods for soil or ballast-covered systems

By including Controlit PK in the design, any waterproofing system can be made electrically testable and certifiable before operation.

Where Controlit is used

Controlit is suitable for a wide range of liquid-retaining structures:

Potable-water and municipal reservoirs
Industrial and chemical containment basins
Fire-water and emergency tanks
Wastewater and process-water structures

In each case, Controlit ensures that the waterproofing can be tested, verified, and documented before the structure is placed in service.

The result

Adding Controlit PK beneath the waterproofing layer closes the final gap in reservoir quality control.
It turns untestable systems into testable ones, giving engineers, contractors, and owners measurable proof of watertight performance.