The truth is that unaccounted for water can have a huge impact on a system financially. Teccura we calculate water and energy use at commercial. Water loss from a utility distribution system is a growing. Assessment of unaccountedfor water in municipal water. Water and wastewater utility data 2nd edition 1996 a certain level of water losses can not be avoided from. Each of these technologies has a place in the effort to detect and locate water leaks. Lilongwe water board lwb is currently unable to meet lilongwe citys water demand as evidenced by low supply coverage 65% and intermittent water supply in the city. Pdf investigating unaccounted for water and its components. If you are a board or council member, i suggest grab your calculator and work through the. It discusses how the city of baltimore, by reactivation of its leak detection program, reduced its unaccounted. Water audits and water loss control for public water. Assessment information background information about water use average water usebill for previous year average water usebill for year before last. Nrw is sometimes also referred to as unaccounted for water ufw.
Pdf a methodology for evaluating leakage or physical unaccounted for water ufw owing to high pressure in water networks is developed. As like many water utilities in worldwide, bwssb is also facing increasing supply demand problem as demand grows and finite water sources are becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to develop. Control of unaccounted for water ufw entails the continual repetition of a series of simple, logical processes and tasks to obtain increasingly accurate, detailed data that. May 15, 2014 americas aging water infrastructure is in need of repair as precious water resources are lost. Water lossphysical loss real losscommercial loss apparent loss. The issues and challenges of reducing nonrevenue water.
Investigating unaccounted for water and its components in zomba city water supply system, malawi article pdf available in journal of water, sanitation and hygiene for development 73. Lake michigan water allocation, pumpage and unaccounted for flow summary water allocation nap % nap to nalp uff % uff year system name mgd mgd allocation mgd mgd to nap 20 illinois american water company moreland 0. Some items may not be applicable for all assessment situations or conditions. Unaccounted for water has detrimental effects on any utility. Water loss has impact on profitability and water quality. Unaccountedforwater management in kwazulu natal, south africa. Help hit your leakage target the quick and easy way to reduce your leakage. Water main replacement galvanized service lines replaced when encountered annual leak detection 30 day field test of leak detection data loggers annual meter calibration on two supply wells metering chamber at water plant sent for factory calibration acquired second metering chamber for easy change out.
Performance indicators of water losses in distribution. Americas aging water infrastructure is in need of repair as precious water resources are lost. Investigating the management of unaccounted for water for. Do you want a job which challenges you to deliver extraordinary results. Losses can be real losses through leaks, sometimes also referred to as physical losses or apparent losses for example through theft or metering inaccuracies. The international water association iwa recommends the use of nrw iwa, 2000.
Unaccounted water percentage silver city, new mexico. Water audits and water loss control for public water systems. Lake michigan water allocation, pumpage and unaccounted for flow summary water allocation nap % nap to nalp uff % uff year system name mgd mgd allocation mgd mgd to nap. Unaccountedforwater reduction in water supply systems. Estimate water supply used for fire fighting and unmetered municipal buildings. Targeting these users first will result in greater savings from fewer repairs and reduce the ufw more effectively. Wup has pioneered a successful partnership between severn trent water international stwi, the water, engineering and development centre wedc and six african water utilities to work together on the improvement of water utility management and reduction of. Reza delavar this chapter presents a study to calculate unaccountedfor water ufw due to high pressure in water networks. Another goal of a water audit is to estimate unaccountedfor water use, which includes.
Percent unaccounted for water february march april may june july august september october november december miscellaneous water usage accountability month. Unaccountedfor water ufw represents the difference between net production the volume of. The water loss specialist group is strongly focused on all treated water that is lost, which is mostly from underground leaks on watermains and water service pipes, and also how to reduce those losses through leak detection and hydraulic control. Unaccounted for water loss is also referred to as non.
Date o water usage location or user comments o method of. Water loss control american water works association. Assessment of unaccountedfor water in municipal water networks using gis and modeling homayoun motiee, ali motiei, ahmad hejranfar and m. Water survey data sheet this data collection sheet is designed to assist auditors during assessments. Within the framework of the communal enterprise management and service delivery component of the usaid good local governance project in montenegro, this comprehensive manual of practice for improved leak detection was elaborated to develop strategies to avoid unaccounted for water. Water audits and water loss control for public water systems epa.
Lack of accountability and managerial incentives to deal with the problem have been offered as the main factor to explain this experience. They make it possible to charge customers based upon the quantities of water that the customers consume. View the article pdf and any associated supplements and figures for a. Unaccountedfor water ufw including the physical and nonphysical loss of. Average water loss in systems is 16 percent up to 75 percent of that is recoverable. Industry standards have recently changed to a more responsible method of water loss management, suggesting that no water is unaccountedfor, but that all water should be accounted for pdf. We are approved by the tceq to analyze additional water quality parameters in drinking water. High levels of nrw are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself.
As a result, the most alarming issue is the increasing share of unaccounted for water, and more so in the developing countries. Unaccounted for water unaccounted for water thesis html. Mulonga water loses k242m in unaccounted for water ag by tebuho sakala on january 27, 2018. Some may think that unaccounted for water is no problem, but, unaccounted for water can have a substantial cost. Unaccountedforwater ufw is the difference between the total amount of water leaving treatment facilities. Unaccountedfor water unaccountedfor water thesis html. Jan 27, 2018 mulonga water loses k242m in unaccounted for water ag by tebuho sakala on january 27, 2018 the auditor general has revealed that mulonga water and sewerage company limited lost an estimated revenue of over k242 million in unaccounted for water. That title seems to get higher attention of the boards and councils of water systems. Paper presented at the 29th water, engineering and development centre wedc conference, nigeria, 2003. Control of unaccounted for water ufw entails the continual repetition of a series of simple, logical processes and tasks to obtain increasingly accurate, detailed data that facilitates evermoreefficient detection of deficiencies. Utilities incur real losses from pipeline leakage and apparent losses when customer water consumption is not properly measured or billed.
Water meters, both at the source and the service connection, are very important for all aspects of the water supply operations and make accurate water auditing possible. A significant component of the overall water conservation management is the control of uaw in a distribution system. Unaccountedforwater reduction in water supply systems franz r. January total accounted for water unaccounted for water explain other. Aging, leaking pipe contributes greatly to the issue of nonrevenue water nrw, or water that is pumped and then lost or unaccounted for. The african water utility partnership for capacity building africa project is part of the sidafunded wup action programme. With the cost of chemicals, electric power, repair parts, design and construction costs increasing, the amount charged for water can only go the same. Globally, on average 34% of pumped water ends up as nrw, according to the international energy agency. One of the biggest problems of distribution network management is the variation and lack of accurate and updated data. Under this approach, no water is unaccounted for and this flawed term and the flawed indicator unaccountedforwater percentage should be avoided. Unaccounted for water reduction in water supply systems franz r. The auditor general has revealed that mulonga water and sewerage company limited lost an estimated revenue of over k242 million in unaccounted for water. The remaining 57,848 properties using less than 5,000 litres per day accounted for over 35 million litres of. Kansas municipal water use 2010 the kansas municipal water use publication has been prepared annually since 1987 to show comparative statistics for active public water suppliers that have filed water use reports with the kansas department of agriculture, division of water resources dwr.
The reduction and control of unaccounted for water. Unaccounted for water and leakage assessment prepared for kap ii project tarawa, republic of kiribati august 2010 pipeline network analysis po box 45 southport, 4215 queensland australia. Another goal of a water audit is to estimate unaccounted for water use, which includes. Programs to reduce unaccounted for water ufw have been frustrating experiences in many banksupported oeprations. Technical seminar on ufw reduction in water supply systems salvador, brazil, febmar. The use of these terms, however, has been confusing. If not addressed and corrected unaccounted for water will be costly for the water system and its customers. Water loss audit optional water loss control water loss control represents the efforts of water utilities to provide accountability in. Management of unaccounted for water in greater colombo water.
Unaccounted for water loss is also referred to as nonrevenue water. Water loss greatly affects operational costs and treatment. Chapter 1 m36 water audits and loss control programs. An expert in water loss control, steve has also given presentations and a webinar on the subject, which can be found here. The remaining 57,848 properties using less than 5,000 litres per day accounted for over 35 million litres of unaccounted for water 43%. International conference on ufw reduction programs recife, brazil. Water and wastewater utility data 2nd edition 1996 a certain level of water losses can not be avoided from a technical point of view and or is considered. Issues of unaccounted for water in the urban water sector g s sastry abstract mismanagement of precious potable water is glaring in urban water utilities throughout the globe. Lake michigan water allocation, pumpage and unaccounted for flow summary water allocation nap % nap to nalp uff % uff year system name mgd mgd allocation mgd mgd to nap 2012 illinois american water company waycinden 0. Controlling water loss washington state department of. Water billed may include unbilled metered water andor unbilled authorized consumption e. Mulonga water loses k242m in unaccounted for water ag the.
One of the major challenges is high levels of unaccounted for water ufw reported at 37% 2012, higher than the recommended 23% for developing countries. The water audit provides a system with a baseline against which. While the two terms are similar, they are not identical, since nonrevenue water includes authorized unbilled consumption e. Mulonga water loses k242m in unaccounted for water ag.
Paper presented at the 29th water, engineering and development centre. This chapter describes the geographic information system gis applications for water distribution systems. Based on this, we can assume that the majority of unaccounted water can be attributed to real losses. Technologies help detect unaccounted for water loss o. Water losses in the distribution system 5 9 magnitude of water losses water loss levels ufw or nrw vary widely per country and within one country per city. One interesting fact is that singapores water supply system is 100% metered from water works to consumers, and illegal connections to the supply are nonexistent.
Water loss is water that never reaches the customer. Losses through leaks, improperlyfunctioning or inoperative system controls and unmetered sources of water. As part of the lead and copper program, some public water systems pwss are required to monitor for water quality parameters in addition to lead and copper. A water system must be diligent in controlling unaccounted for water loss. Non revenue water nrw is water that has been produced and is lost before it reaches the customer. As like many water utilities in worldwide, bwssb is also facing increasing supply demand problem as demand grows and finite water sources are becoming increasingly diffi. Pdf investigating unaccounted for water and its components in. The bangalore population is increasing exponentially and the. Use the link below to share a fulltext version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Controlling water loss washington state department of health. In order to put rip to unaccountedfor water, you need to.
Pdf estimating physical unaccounted for water ufw in. Unaccountedfor water is an outdated term used to describe water loss. The terms unaccounted for water ufw and nonrevenue water nrw have been widely used in the past. Nonrevenue water is the water that is lost before it reaches the customer. Pdf this study assessed unaccounted forwater ufw in zomba city,malawi in 2009 and quantified its real and apparent loss components. The first paper of the joint discussion is titled program at baltimore, by karl h. Definition, terminology, and approach 4 nonrevenue water estimates for asia 7 nonrevenue water impact on water utility efficiency 9 nonrevenue water impact on customers 12 nonrevenue water and the urban poor 14 the importance of establishing a water balance 15 what you should know about physical losses 17. This is a must read for urban water practitioners, policy makers, owners of water companies, investors, and those of us in the development.