Have you ever asked why the gallons of water pumped each month into a distribution system always exceed the gallons being sold? There are no perfect water distribution systems and every utility incurs water loss and strives to determine where it occurs and a means to remediate the issue. Controlling water loss ultimately saves money, but it is not always apparent. Let’s take a look at how water usage is billed/not billed in a water system:
Household Fixture Leaks
Household Appliance Leaks
Fire Department Hydrant Use for Fire Events
Flushing of Hydrants
Authorized un-metered water usage
Inaccurate Water Meters/Reading
Water Theft
Customer Billing Adjustment
Pipe Joint Leakage
Main Breaks
Storage Tank Overflows
Limits unnecessary and unauthorized use of water
Recovers revenue due to utility
Saves money on electricity, maintenance, and treatment
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed free Water Audit Software, Version 5.0 available to the public for free download. It is spreadsheet-based to assist you in quantifying and tracking water loss in your distribution system.
image: AWWA water audit example
It is a given that every water system has some degree of water loss. That is why having basic water loss management policies in place for your community is an excellent means to minimize non-revenue water loss challenges.
A water loss audit is a great first step in obtaining support for determining and assessing non-revenue water. Ultimately, a more detailed analysis and program design for components of your water distribution system would be the next step to find solutions for minimizing water loss.