Tool to Fight Leakage Losses

New Tool by WRF Helps Water Utilities Better Understand and Control Leakage in a Cost-effective Manner through Recently Completed Research and the Development of a New Leakage Analysis Tool

The Water Research Foundation, a leading sponsor ofresearch supporting the water community, is helping water utilities better understand andcontrol leakage in a cost-effective manner through recently completed research and the
development of a new leakage analysis tool.

WaterAuditsandRealLossComponentAnalysisprojectprovideswaterutilitiesinformationtobetterunderstand the sources of theirlosses from leakage throughout the water distribution system and a tool to help analyze the economic impact of various intervention strategies.

The vast majority of water utilities in North America employ reactive leakage managementstrategies, through which failures are repaired when they are reported to the utility.

Becauseof this, utilities are continuing to experienceincreases in leakage losses throughout thedistribution system due to a rising backlog of unreported distribution system failures. Theselosses continue to mount in spite of the fact that significant industry research hasdemonstrated the economic and efficiency gains that can be achieved through proactiveleakage management.

In order to develop an effective and proactive leakage loss reduction strategy, utilities mustundertake three major steps: a "top-down" water audit; component analysis of real losses;and evaluation of least-cost real loss reduction strategies.

The water audit estimates revenueand non-revenue water, as well as real losses as a sub-category of non-revenue water. Theleakage component analysis further determines the known real losses and categorizes theminto three types of leakage: reported, unreported, or background.

This step includes wateraudit results, utility data on specific leak occurrences, and a calculation of background losses.

By then combining the component analysis with an evaluation of least cost real loss reductionstrategies, it is possible to calculate how much of each type of leakage can be economicallyreduced through the right combination of intervention tools. Very few water utilities have thenecessary expertise in leakage loss management to efficiently undertake a leakage componentanalysis and design the correct leakage control program. Water Research Foundation project#4372 was designed to fill this gap.

Source: Water Research Foundation

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• Technology
• Infrastructure
• Leakage Reduction