In early 2002 the Leak Detection and Water Accountability Committee of the American Water Works
Association compiled a Committee Report that advocates the use of new international methods of water
supply auditing and loss control to promote stronger stewardship of water supplies in North America.
This paper provides an overview of the approaches recommended for use to quantitatively manage
drinking water supplies. As of the above date, the Committee Report has received approval of the Leak
Detection and Water Accountability Committee and is navigating the formal AWWA approval path in the
hope of becoming the stated position of the organization on water loss control.
Despite growing pressures on drinking water suppliers from a variety of issues, the North American water
industry has yet to mount a focused effort to implement reliable and consistent water supply auditing and
loss control in its operations. A detailed survey funded by the AWWA Technical and Educational
Council recently queried state and regional water oversight agencies on the reporting and monitoring
practices that they employ. The findings of this "States Survey" project confirm that practices used by
these agencies are quite limited and vary widely across the United States, providing minimal impact in
terms of motivating water and revenue loss reduction.
A lack of accurate methods for water accounting and loss control has traditionally constrained water
system managers in maintaining sound controls on water loss. Fortunately, a new method for
constructing a water supply audit was developed by the International Water Association's Task Force on
Water Loss and published in 2000. This "international method" was intended to be applicable to water
supply systems world wide and gives a framework to tabulate all uses and losses of water encountered in
a water utility. It features consistent and well-defined terms and definitions, and the notion that all water
is accounted for, as either a use or a loss; hence, no water is "unaccounted-for". The method also
features rationally defined performance indicators that are effective in setting targets, benchmarking and
in assisting accreditation efforts.
While the international method provides a reliable means to evaluate and audit water use and loss,
proactive loss control interventions have also been developed in recent years. Effective leakage
management methods have been advanced with great success, particularly in the United Kingdom, where
some estimates state that as much as 85% of all recoverable leakage has been abated within the past
decade. With effective water resources management becoming increasingly challenged by growing
populations, drought and infrastructure needs, the discipline of Water Loss Control offers great potential
in sustaining existing water supplies and recovering much needed revenue.
Includes 17 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 430 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 23 |
