pipe with special equipment. Micro tunneling and hydraulic jacking are other
trenchless techniques where pipe is either pushed or pulled underground without
the necessity of large amounts of excavation.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) procedures and standards should also be a
part of any water loss control program. Along with ensuring proper design and
installation of new distribution components, maintenance and operation measures
such as system flushing, valve exercising, meter assessment testing and replacement
programs, system modeling, and pressure management all contribute to improved
efficiency, reduction in water losses, and often cost savings.
Developing a complete water loss control program requires careful consideration
of the water loss reduction goals a PWS wishes to achieve. The program should be
customized for the unique features of the PWS and be flexible enough to update as
the PWS conducts future water audits [2, 14, 15]. In gravity drainage systems such as
sanitary and storm sewers, smaller amounts of losses are expected.
3 The Study City
Quantification and assessment of impacts of losses from municipal water services in
Ar-Riyadh (see Fig. 6.1) were verified in a research project. For an estimated
population of 6.5 million inhabitants in 2015, the amount of water supplied to the
city has reached 4 million m
3 /day. More than two-thirds of this amount is desalinated
seawater transported from the Arabian Gulf, 400 km away, and the remaining
portion is extracted from local deep well fields within a radius of about 100 km
from the city. The urban limit of the city covers an area of 155,500 ha that is fully
covered by the water supply system. Sanitary sewers serve about 54% of the
population and 27% of the urban area [16]. Two main storm water channels follow
the natural courses of two wadis (valleys) and discharge southward into Wadi
Hanifah.
Water losses from municipal wet infrastructures percolate into the subsurface
environment of the city that is incapable of admitting such an excess amount of
water. With the exception of minor alluvial deposits, the geological formations of the
city are characterized by thin soil layers, which overlie impervious limestone. As a
result of increasing water losses, the city has experienced a rise in groundwater level
at a rate of 0.6 in. per year, rising from more than 20 in. in depth to 0.5 in. below the
ground surface in urban areas at present [17]. This water rise is causing a variety of
problems to Ar-Riyadh’s citizens. A brief description of the fieldwork and a discussion of the results of leakage from the wet systems are outlined in the following
sections.
6 Water Losses from Utilities
243
trenchless techniques where pipe is either pushed or pulled underground without
the necessity of large amounts of excavation.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) procedures and standards should also be a
part of any water loss control program. Along with ensuring proper design and
installation of new distribution components, maintenance and operation measures
such as system flushing, valve exercising, meter assessment testing and replacement
programs, system modeling, and pressure management all contribute to improved
efficiency, reduction in water losses, and often cost savings.
Developing a complete water loss control program requires careful consideration
of the water loss reduction goals a PWS wishes to achieve. The program should be
customized for the unique features of the PWS and be flexible enough to update as
the PWS conducts future water audits [2, 14, 15]. In gravity drainage systems such as
sanitary and storm sewers, smaller amounts of losses are expected.
3 The Study City
Quantification and assessment of impacts of losses from municipal water services in
Ar-Riyadh (see Fig. 6.1) were verified in a research project. For an estimated
population of 6.5 million inhabitants in 2015, the amount of water supplied to the
city has reached 4 million m
3 /day. More than two-thirds of this amount is desalinated
seawater transported from the Arabian Gulf, 400 km away, and the remaining
portion is extracted from local deep well fields within a radius of about 100 km
from the city. The urban limit of the city covers an area of 155,500 ha that is fully
covered by the water supply system. Sanitary sewers serve about 54% of the
population and 27% of the urban area [16]. Two main storm water channels follow
the natural courses of two wadis (valleys) and discharge southward into Wadi
Hanifah.
Water losses from municipal wet infrastructures percolate into the subsurface
environment of the city that is incapable of admitting such an excess amount of
water. With the exception of minor alluvial deposits, the geological formations of the
city are characterized by thin soil layers, which overlie impervious limestone. As a
result of increasing water losses, the city has experienced a rise in groundwater level
at a rate of 0.6 in. per year, rising from more than 20 in. in depth to 0.5 in. below the
ground surface in urban areas at present [17]. This water rise is causing a variety of
problems to Ar-Riyadh’s citizens. A brief description of the fieldwork and a discussion of the results of leakage from the wet systems are outlined in the following
sections.
6 Water Losses from Utilities
243