As a result of climate change, the frequency and duration of prolonged drought is steadily increasing, and costly new sources of water are being...

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As a result of climate change, the frequency and duration of prolonged drought is steadily increasing, and costly new sources of water are being sought: improved storage, recycling, desalination, etc.

However, a very important source of "new water" -- the one that is also the least costly -- is largely overlooked: that which is lost to leakage from aging municipal water main lines. This leakage loss is commonly estimated to be ~20% of the potable water supply.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives the US drinking water system a grade of "D". The American Water Works Association (AWWA) estimates the average water main leakage loss to be ~22.3%, with ranges of 6.8 - 45.5%, corresponding to be 645.42 – 3,496.21 gallons / mile of main / day, with an average of 1,821.15 gallons / mile of main / day.

Thus, in spite of water utility companies' demands for consumers to fix their leaks, the water utilities themselves lose more water to water main leakage than households -- and consumer efforts for conservation.

Why should costly new sources of water such as recycling, desalination, etc., be put into failing water main systems that continue to leak and progressively deteriorate?

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