The new system, called Sahara, will initially use a detector attached to a cable to probe for leaks, with an attached camera pinpointing the location of the leaks. The previous system detected leaks through noise sensors.

Assistant water supplies director (development) Bobby Ng Mang-tung said the new system works like an endoscope through which engineers can see the condition of the pipe and locate leaks.

Eight sections of fresh and seawater pipes under Gloucester Road burst on August 31, causing traffic chaos on Hong Kong Island.

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Replacement of those pipes will be completed by next week, but work on those under Fleming Road and O'Brien Road will end next February.

Since the Wan Chai leakage, the department has completed checking 60 percent of the 500 water pipes in Hong Kong. Maintenance works continue on 17 leaking pipes.

There were 1,300 leaks between 2008 and 2009, 200 in Kwun Tong.

The department will finish replacing and repairing about 3,000 kilometers of pipes by 2015.

Ng said it will arrange the replacement of water pipes according to priority, such as materials used and the age of the pipes.

But it will also look into the impact on traffic conditions if there is a leak.

"There are 30 kilometers of pipes under maintenance every day in 1,000 construction sites in all districts. So it's not possible to speed up the works," he said.