2. Inappropriate system design and poor workmanship
3. Overlapping responsibilities
4. Inadequate training of personnel
5. Inadequate emphasis on preventive maintenance
6. Lack of operation manuals
7. Lack of real-time field information
The infrastructure of many of the drinking water systems in many cities was built
decades ago and is currently in need of attention. PWSs are not only expected to
produce safe drinking water at a low cost but must also address current growing
concerns such as limited water availability, increasing water demands, climate
change, increasing regulatory requirements, and limited resources and funding.
The reasons to find and repair leaks are [5]:
1. Leaks get bigger with age.
2. Repairing leaks reduces growing water losses.
3. Repairing leaks with regularly scheduled maintenance reduces overtime costs of
unscheduled repairs.
4. Leak repairs provide more treated, pressurized water to sell to customers.
5. Leak detection and repair can reduce power costs to deliver water and reduce
chemical costs to treat water.
6. Leaks have been known to cause damage to nearby roads, other infrastructure,
and sometimes buildings. Some water utilities conduct frequent leak detection
and repair programs near unstable geologic areas to reduce their legal liability
against expensive lawsuits.
7. Leak detection and repair improves public relations. The public appreciates
seeing that its water systems are being maintained.
8. The utility gains credibility by putting its own house in order before asking the
customers to conserve water.
2 Management and Control of Leakage
A PWS must balance use of its resources to address the financial and personnel
demands of economic restrictions, water availability, population and climate
changes, regulatory requirements, operational costs, and public and environmental
stewardship. A water loss control program can help identify and reduce actual water
losses along with apparent losses resulting from metering, billing, or accounting
errors. Water loss control programs can potentially defer, reduce, or eliminate the
need for a facility to expend resources on costly repairs, upgrades, or expansions. A
water loss control program will also protect public health through reduction in
potential entry points of disease-causing pathogens.
Maintaining system infrastructure to deliver clean and safe drinking water to
customers is often a significant challenge for the operators of public water systems
(PWSs). Much of the estimated 880,000 miles of drinking water infrastructure in the
240
N. K. Shammas et al.
3. Overlapping responsibilities
4. Inadequate training of personnel
5. Inadequate emphasis on preventive maintenance
6. Lack of operation manuals
7. Lack of real-time field information
The infrastructure of many of the drinking water systems in many cities was built
decades ago and is currently in need of attention. PWSs are not only expected to
produce safe drinking water at a low cost but must also address current growing
concerns such as limited water availability, increasing water demands, climate
change, increasing regulatory requirements, and limited resources and funding.
The reasons to find and repair leaks are [5]:
1. Leaks get bigger with age.
2. Repairing leaks reduces growing water losses.
3. Repairing leaks with regularly scheduled maintenance reduces overtime costs of
unscheduled repairs.
4. Leak repairs provide more treated, pressurized water to sell to customers.
5. Leak detection and repair can reduce power costs to deliver water and reduce
chemical costs to treat water.
6. Leaks have been known to cause damage to nearby roads, other infrastructure,
and sometimes buildings. Some water utilities conduct frequent leak detection
and repair programs near unstable geologic areas to reduce their legal liability
against expensive lawsuits.
7. Leak detection and repair improves public relations. The public appreciates
seeing that its water systems are being maintained.
8. The utility gains credibility by putting its own house in order before asking the
customers to conserve water.
2 Management and Control of Leakage
A PWS must balance use of its resources to address the financial and personnel
demands of economic restrictions, water availability, population and climate
changes, regulatory requirements, operational costs, and public and environmental
stewardship. A water loss control program can help identify and reduce actual water
losses along with apparent losses resulting from metering, billing, or accounting
errors. Water loss control programs can potentially defer, reduce, or eliminate the
need for a facility to expend resources on costly repairs, upgrades, or expansions. A
water loss control program will also protect public health through reduction in
potential entry points of disease-causing pathogens.
Maintaining system infrastructure to deliver clean and safe drinking water to
customers is often a significant challenge for the operators of public water systems
(PWSs). Much of the estimated 880,000 miles of drinking water infrastructure in the
240
N. K. Shammas et al.