504 © IWA Publishing 2012 Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.

4 | 2012

Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water

distribution
Philipp Klingel

ABSTRACT
Philipp Klingel
Centralized water distribution in developing countries continues to be fraught with great difficulties.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,
One major deficiency is the intermittent distribution of water. Most distribution systems were Institute for Water and River Basin Management,
Kaiserstraße 12,
originally designed for a continuous supply mode and are now operated intermittently because of 76131 Karlsruhe,
Germany
various constraints. In this mode of operation, the piping system is supplied with water for limited E-mail: [email protected]
periods of time and is not filled with water under pressure continuously as originally provided for in
the technical design concept. Periodic filling and draining of the pipe system is associated with
numerous negative consequences which ultimately aggravate or prevent sustainable safe water
distribution. To overcome this problem, thorough knowledge of intermittent water distribution is
required. This paper discusses possible causes and consequences, and their interactions. These
considerations are largely limited to the technical side of water distribution and are mainly based on
the technical literature in the field.
Key words | deficiencies, developing countries, intermittent, water distribution

INTRODUCTION

Despite major international efforts, centralized water distri- Periodic filling and draining of a piping system is associ-
bution in developing countries continues to be fraught with ated with a number of negative consequences, for instance,
major deficiencies. One deficiency of key importance is on infrastructure (pressure surges as well as underrunning
intermittent water distribution. Roughly one third of the and overrunning pressure limits), water quality (stagnation
water distribution systems in Africa, more than half of the and intrusion of pollution in cases of underpressure), and
systems in Asia, and nearly two thirds of the systems in water losses. These ultimately prevent water distribution
Latin America do not supply their customers continuously which is safe and sound from the point of view of supply
(WHO & UNICEF ; Lee & Schwab ). In Southeast technology. Conversely, it is safe to state that proper con-
Asia and India, the percentage of water distribution systems tinuous operation is a prerequisite for the sustainable
that run intermittently is even estimated at 90% and nearly operation of systems designed for a continuous distribution,
100%, respectively (Vairavamoorthy et al. ). These and that intermittent water distribution can only be a
data are summarized in Table 1 below. reasonable intermediate solution (Kumar ; Myers
Intermittent operation is mostly a consequence of exter- ; Totsuka et al. ).
nal constraints such as technical deficiencies, and not a To improve the supply situation in developing
planned operation strategy. With intermittent operation, countries, it is absolutely imperative to develop solutions
the piping system is filled with water for limited periods of to the problem of intermittent water distribution. One pre-
time and not (as originally provided for in the technical condition for this is precise knowledge of intermittent
design concept) filled with water under pressure continu- water distribution and of its causes and consequences.
ously (Vairavamoorthy et al. b, ). This paper is a literature-based review of the topic

doi: 10.2166/ws.2012.023

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 505 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

Table 1 | Proportion of intermittent operated distribution systems in selected regions is also taken into account as a requirement when looking
at deficiencies.
Intermittent water
Region distribution Reference Furthermore, the considerations of intermittent water

Africa Approx. 30% WHO & UNICEF ()

distribution in this paper are limited largely to the technical

Asia Approx. 50% WHO & UNICEF ()

area of water supply comprising all aspects of conceptual

Latin America Approx. 60% Lee & Schwab ()

design and planning, infrastructure, and operation of the sys-

Southeast Asia Approx. 90% Vairavamoorthy et al. ()

tems components. Together with the economic area, this is

India Approx. 100% Vairavamoorthy et al. ()

the area under the direct influence of the water supply com-
pany. The economic area includes aspects of business
administration, such as pricing, billing, investment planning,
and attempts to contribute to the understanding of the etc.
problem. However, any deficiencies to be attributed to these areas
are decisively influenced by external boundary conditions
specific to a region, which cannot be directly influenced
APPROACH AND LIMITATIONS by the water supply company and are not discussed in this
paper:
Discussing the causes and negative impacts of intermittent
water distribution first requires definition of the term
• Institutionalized boundary conditions (e.g. politics,
structure of organization, legislation, regulation).
deficiency. In water supply, deficiency means a restriction
in providing the services required. Thus, the definition of
• Societal and cultural boundary conditions (e.g. availability
of expert personnel, consumer behavior, acceptance,
the purposes of water supply also defines what must be
corruption).
regarded as a deficiency. The duties of water supply are ulti-
mately guided by the consumer. In developed countries,
• Economic boundary conditions (e.g. legal structure,
subsidies).
most water supply requirements are defined in terms of qual-
ity, quantity and supply pressure.
• Ecological boundary conditions (e.g. limited water
resources, carbon emissions, protection of resources).
While ensuring a sufficient volume of water supplied
and an adequate water quality are crucial requirements,
• Technical boundary conditions (e.g. interfaces with and
dependency on other infrastructure systems such as
deficits in the level of supply pressure often only represent power grid, availability of material).
a restriction in comfort. Moreover, ensuring supply with a
sufficient amount of water implies an adequate supply Finally, the considerations of intermittent water distri-

pressure. Thus, the requirements with respect to supply bution are limited to systems originally designed for a

pressure are deliberately left out of consideration in continuous mode of operation. This is of importance when

this paper because they do not themselves constitute a limit- it comes to considering technical deficiencies leading to

ation of supply. an intermittent operation or being the result of intermittent

Actually ensuring supply with a sufficient amount of water distribution.

water also implies equitable supply in terms of quantity.

Restrictions in the volume supplied as a consequence of
technical deficiencies, on the other hand, are almost TECHNICAL CAUSES
always associated with limitations in equitable supply in
terms of quantity. Accordingly, consumers are mostly not Water resources
equitably affected by unplanned and uncontrolled cut
backs in water quality. As most intermittent operated Decision makers frequently cite as a reason for intermittent
supply systems in developing countries show deficits in the operation the scarcity of the available water resources,
volume and quality supplied, in this paper equitable supply which does not permit continuous supply by users (Andey

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 506 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

& Kelkar ). However, a distinction must be made growth in urban areas and the uncontrolled settlements
between absolute scarcity of water, on the one hand, and often associated with that growth in the second half of the
scarcity due to economic or technical reasons, on the 20th century was unsatisfactory and unplanned.
other (Totsuka et al. ). Other systems were designed without any basic plan. In
In this connection, absolute scarcity means resources both cases, overarching concepts are either neglected or
are insufficient to meet demand. Where developing new absent. Technical causes are mainly the result of insufficient
water resources, or curbing consumption by demand man- knowledge of systems and faulty planning.
agement methods (see e.g. Butler & Memon ()) are
not options, absolute scarcity is an external boundary con- Systems knowledge
dition not to be changed.
In cases of technical-economic scarcity of water, the Knowledge about a system initially depends on the available
available water resource in principle meets demand. Scarcity database and its topicality. The infrastructure of water distri-
of water results from a reduction of the available volume due bution systems is subject to pronounced dynamics. The
to losses of water and the wasting of water during distribution major factors influencing developments are the aging of
and at the consumer end (Kumar , ; Chowdhury et al. plant components and the resultant need for maintenance.
; McIntosh ). The causes are mainly to be found in Moreover, demographic change and modifications in area
the technical operation of water supply systems. This means utilization give rise to the need for system adaptation or
that continuous water distribution is still possible, in prin- expansion because of changing boundary conditions. Data
ciple, in cases of water scarcity for technical or economic management and storage primarily serve the purpose of doc-
reasons (Kumar ). umenting the current status of a water distribution system.
This will be the center of attention below.
Systems concept Both planning and analysis as well as the operation of a
water distribution system require thorough knowledge of
The functioning operation of a water distribution system pre- the infrastructure and of major boundary conditions. Accord-
supposes a systems concept adapted to local conditions and ingly, data management plays a key role in enabling the
taking into account future developments. The system con- functioning of a water distribution system, as well as its tech-
cept, i.e. the arrangement of tanks, pumping systems, nical, ecological and economic sustainability. Deficiencies in
feeders and distribution systems and their arrangement, data management unavoidably lead to deficiencies in water
allows operation of the individual components in accord- distribution.
ance with the recognized state of the art. All measures of Developing countries rarely have central systems regis-
operation, maintenance and systems expansion must be har- ters and associated work processes for continuous data
monized with the overarching systems concept. collection and the updating of that register in place. Usually,
In developing countries, many water distribution only out-of-date systems plans are available which differ
systems lack an overarching concept. Complex large greatly from reality, as was shown, for instance, by a study
water distribution systems without defined pressure or in the small Algerian town of Béni Abbès (Klingel ) in
supply zones and without defined feeder systems are not which a comparison of the systems plans with reality
uncommon, see e.g. Cembrowicz et al. (), Klingel & showed irregularities in 86% of the piping system (pipes
Deuerlein (), and Klingel (). listed correctly: 14%; pipes existing and registered, but not
These systems were designed in part with a concept in registered correctly: 34%; pipes registered, but non-existent:
mind and were then extended and modified without any 21%, pipes not registered, but existing: 31%).
underlying plan. In most cases, they were designed and Many water supply companies have no records whatso-
built in the first half of the 20th century for the size of the ever. At best, technical staff have a good systems
supply area at that time and on the basis of criteria for con- knowledge. However, in most cases, staff knowledge is
tinuous supply. Response to the pronounced population believed to be better than it is in reality, as, for instance, in

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 507 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

Béni Abbès (Klingel ). The reasons for this are to be found The consequences are intuitive, unplanned expansions
mainly in the institutionalized and personnel realms of the of a system or interventions into systems structure and
water supply companies. Decision makers often simply fail wrongly dimensioned systems components. These systems
to recognize the importance of functioning data management components cannot be operated properly. For example,
(Kumar ). At the operational level, funding and the avail- pumping systems are overdimensioned or underdimen-
ability of properly trained, motivated personnel mostly sioned, and tanks do not fulfil their purpose because of
constitute the decisive restrictive factors (Thibodeaux ). inadequate installation in the system.
As well as knowledge of the infrastructure, knowledge of The unplanned expansions referred to above result in a
hydraulic systems behavior is a factor of decisive impor- properly designed systems structure first becoming increas-
tance. However, modeling hydraulic behavior of a system ingly more complex (Vairavamoorthy et al. ). These
by calculation is not possible in the absence of a sufficient distribution systems then have impenetrable topologies
database and with unsatisfactory systems operation and are not designed correctly for water extraction and oper-
(Totsuka et al. ; Ang & Jowitt ; Trifunovic & ation. In this connection, the absence of expansions to or
Vairavamoorthy ). Demand-driven systems analysis is adaptation of systems capacities to rising demand, e.g. as a
no longer realistic in an intermittent mode of operation result of population growth, must also be taken into account
because of non-steady flow states, possible two-phase (McIntosh ; Totsuka et al. ; Andey & Kelkar ).
flows, and the usually complex systems configuration (in- The unavoidable consequences are insufficient or even
house tanks, private pumps) with partly unknown par- excessive pressures.
ameters (water losses, systems data). Pressure peaks and pressure fluctuations have a negative
Demand-driven calculation of systems pressures and impact on the state of the infrastructure (and thus on losses
flows is based on the assumption of specific water volumes and quality of water). Insufficient pipe pressure results in
being extracted from the system. These water volumes are stagnation zones (with the associated hazard of pathogens
established as parameters for calculation. The validity of developing in the water) and unsupplied regions in a
any calculation is based on the assumption that the pressure system. The bottlenecks in supply also caused by the inter-
necessary for water consumption is indeed ensured. This is mittent mode of operation, and the associated inequitable
true only of distribution systems continuously kept under distribution, make consumers build illegal connections to
pressure. The few familiar approaches towards modeling the system, use private pumps and install in-house tanks.
an intermittent mode of operation, e.g. by Vairavamoorthy This makes the complexity of the systems structure and its
et al. (), Batish (), Sashikumar et al. (), Ingeduld hydraulics more and more unfathomable (Kumar ;
et al. (), and Cabrera-Bejar & Tzatchkov (), do not Bradley et al. ). Illegal connections are very difficult to
fully take into account the characteristics of intermittent localize and thus constitute another unknown parameter
operation, or do not offer feasible solutions for practical in the database, adding to the problems described above.
application. This makes systems analysis difficult and not The complex structure of a system and wrongly dimen-
very informative in most cases. sioned systems components ultimately prevent technical
operation in which the planned control and management
Systems planning of systems components can achieve the desired systems
reactions. Operators feel compelled to run their water distri-
In accordance with the situation described above, sustainable bution system intuitively and intermittently.
planning of systems expansions or adaptation to changed
boundary conditions is impossible in the absence of an over- Infrastructure management and water loss reduction
arching systems concept. Moreover, analyzing deficiencies,
planning proper countermeasures and designing systems Insufficient knowledge of a system also makes sustainable
components is not feasible in the absence of sufficient maintenance more difficult, especially the basic, plannable,
systems knowledge (Trifunovic & Vairavamoorthy ). measures of maintenance, inspection and rehabilitation.

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 508 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

The consequence is an increasingly more defective state The extraction of relatively large water volumes in a
of the infrastructure, which results in limited functionality relatively short time causes load factors to assume dimen-
of the systems elements and an increased number of sions for which most piping systems were not designed.
leakages with corresponding real losses of water (Hammerer Andey & Kelkar () determined load factors in case
). studies which were up to 3.2 times higher in intermittent
Real losses of water can assume proportions which, ulti- operation than in continuous mode. This causes relatively
mately, make adequate supply impossible (see the section on large head losses and, consequently, pressure deficits in a
water resources) and often the response to a large number of system. Consumers further away from the feed point than
leakages is intermittent water distribution. The mode of other users thus may extract less water (Totsuka et al.
operation is to minimize losses as a result of leakages. How- ). In extreme cases, pressures may not be sufficient to
ever, intermittent operation, in turn, gives rise to higher leak distribute water into remote areas of the system. Unsupplied
rates (see next section below). systems areas, stagnation zones, and pipe sections filled only
Hence, insufficient curbing of water losses is a major partly are the consequences.
cause of intermittent water distribution. Effective reduction Private pumps are sometimes used to offset pressure def-
of real losses of water, however, presupposes thorough sys- icits (Klingel ). After the end of the supply period, parts
tems knowledge (Farley & Liemberger ; Howard & of the system may be drained completely as a result of
Bartram ; Ulanicki et al. ). extraction by pumps and leakages. The private pumps some-
times used for these purposes can even cause negative
Summary pressures in the pipe system. Moreover, pressure surges
are quite frequent in repetitive filling of empty pipes.
In summary, it can be said that the interacting inadequacies
in systems knowledge, systems concepts and systems plan- Water supply
ning lead to complex distribution systems with limited
functioning capability. As a consequence, systems need to The intermittent distribution of water thus per se causes
be operated more or less intuitively and intermittently. Oper- intermittent supply and bottlenecks. The hydraulic deficits
ation is thus a reaction to the sum total of the deficiencies described above lead to additional restrictions in the
referred to above. volume supplied and prevent an equitable distribution.
Moreover, losses of water play a decisive role as a cause Consumers therefore feel compelled to store water for
of intermittent water distribution. An attempt is made to periods without water supply, for instance in small private
control, via the mode of operation, the deliveries of the tanks. In order to make full use of supply times, water taps
water volume limited by water losses, and also the amount mostly remain open all the time (McIntosh ; Totsuka
of water lost. et al. ). Sometimes, these private tanks are equipped
with float valves (Klingel ).
Moreover, secondary sources, such as private water
TECHNICAL IMPACTS sources, purchased bottled water or supply from a tank
car, must be used when supply is insufficient. Private
Hydraulics water extraction, i.e. water resources exploited without any
control, can endanger the water resource and thus the
In an intermittent mode of operation, a distribution system water supply system (McIntosh ).
is supplied water for a specific period of time. In some
cases, different areas of a system are supplied at different Financial burden to the customer
times. Consumers try, during supply periods, to extract
their requirements from the system up until the next Consumers have to pay high costs when water supplies are
supply period, and to store them. intermittent, as was found by McIntosh (): intermittent

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 509 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

supply means the need to purchase additional infrastructure Moreover, regular refilling of empty or partly empty
in the form of in-house tanks and private pumps. Expensive pipes gives rise to a two-phase flow (Keller ). This can
energy is required to run private pumps. Moreover, one result in faulty flow measurements and, combined with
member of the household often must be delegated to entrained particles, in destruction of domestic water
watch for supply periods and fill the in-house tanks. This meters (McIntosh ; Totsuka et al. ). Determining
applies in particular to poor parts of the population who the distribution of water volumes as the basis of any water
cannot afford float valves or tanks of sufficient size. Delegat- loss control is greatly aggravated in this way.
ing a member of the household, in turn, may result in loss of
income to the household. Wastage of water
Furthermore, consumers often are forced to resort to brib-
ery in order to be supplied water at all. Poor consumers can The problem of high water losses is intensified by the higher
feel this as an immense financial expense and, consequently, wastage of water in the intermittent supply mode compared
as exploitation. If the amount of water made available does to continuous supply (Kumar ; Bradley et al. ;
not meet demand, consumers are also required to resort to Totsuka et al. ). This is mainly a consequence of the rela-
secondary water sources (such as private wells, supplies out tively large volume of water made available in a short span of
of tank cars, or bottled water) which, in turn, mean extra time. In-house tanks flow over in the supply period (Bradley
costs. et al. ; Chowdhury et al. ; McIntosh ) or are
Intermittent patterns of water distribution are unable to emptied prior to supply in order to create capacity for fresh
guarantee high quality of the water (see below). The cost of water (McIntosh ). In Béni Abbès, for instance, an
treating water-borne diseases, or the loss of income associ- inquiry among households showed that 76% of the house-
ated with a disease, constitute other financial burdens to holds indicated they wanted to save water by better
consumers. management of their private tanks, which is an indication
of water wastage in this connection (AHT ; Klingel ).
Infrastructure and losses of water
Water quality
The infrastructure suffers mainly as a result of pressure
surges and pressure fluctuations caused by the intermittent Stagnation of water in the piping system caused by pressure
mode of operation and by defects in systems design deficits and intermittent feeding of the system, and the resi-
(Chowdhury et al. ; Andey & Kelkar ). The conse- dence times of water in in-house tanks, entail the hazard of
quences are the restricted functioning of systems elements, pathogens colonizing in the water. Studies confirm water
higher rates of pipe breaks and associated major losses of contamination in this context (Gadgil ; Jensen et al.
water (Kumar ; Bradley et al. ; WHO ). The ; Totsuka et al. ; Lee & Schwab ; Andey &
problem is aggravated even further by often insufficient Kelkar ). This hazard is increased at high temperatures
maintenance and reduction of water losses. by running pipes close to the surface and setting up in-house
The causes of insufficient reduction of losses of water tanks without protection from the sun (Klingel ).
referred to in the section above are aggravated further by Low systems pressure or even negative pressure allow
the intermittent mode of operation. When the supply particles and ground water to enter the piping systems
system is not permanently filled with water under pressure, through leaks. Contamination of the water is the unavoid-
important techniques of determining losses of water and able consequence, as is borne out by studies by Gadgil
detecting leakages cannot be applied. Kumar () there- (), Totsuka et al. (), Lee & Schwab (), and
fore describes potential ways to detect leakages in cases of Andey & Kelkar (). Consequences are particularly
intermittent supply. However, all these approaches have in grave where defective sewers run parallel to drinking
common the principle of temporarily supplying parts of water pipes, as was found by Andey & Kelkar (). One
the system continuously by various techniques. approach to analyzing the risks of contamination from

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 510 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

pollution entering the piping system is described by Vairava- house storage methods and times, depending on the installa-
moorthy et al. (a) and Vairavamoorthy et al. (c). tion, supply times and volumes.
Thus, the technical deficiencies connected to intermit-
Equitability of supply tent water distribution finally lead to an inequitable supply
in terms of water quality and quantity supplied.
Due to intuitively operated intermittent water distribution,
supply times usually differ throughout the supply system. Summary
As a consequence, the supply is inequitable regarding
the quantity supplied (the reasons for intuitive operation Intermittent water distribution related to the technical part
are described in the section on technical causes). The of a water supply system causes a continuously deteriorating
hydraulic deficits described in this section may lead to state of the infrastructure and major losses of water. An
unsupplied systems areas, stagnation zones and a limit- improper systems operation results in reduced and inequita-
ation of water extraction at points of consumption, thus ble deliveries from the pipe system and in supply
aggravating the problem of inequitable supply of bottlenecks. Stagnation zones and low pipe pressures as
consumers. well as private interim storage cause problems of water qual-
Moreover, the water quality at the points of consump- ity. In this way, the fundamental requirements of water
tion is unpredictably heterogeneous as a consequence of supply (quality, quantity and equitable distribution) cannot
punctual intrusions of pollutants into the piping system, be met at all or only in part. Moreover, intermittent water
stagnation zones and the diverse realization and manage- distribution is associated with an extra financial burden on
ment of in-house storage. The stagnation zones vary in consumers. The most important relations are shown sche-
time and location due to the system hydraulics and the in- matically in Figure 1.

Figure 1 | Causes and effects of intermittent water distribution.

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 511 P. Klingel | Technical causes and impacts of intermittent water distribution Water Science & Technology: Water Supply | 12.4 | 2012

CONCLUSION Andey, S. P. & Kelkar, P. S.  Performance of water

distribution systems during intermittent versus continuous
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Intermittent water distribution is characteristic of urban Association 99 (8), 99–107.
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at present operated in the intermittent mode were originally systems under pressure-deficient conditions. Journal of Water
Resources Planning and Management 132 (3), 175–182.
designed for continuous operation. For various reasons, they
Batish, R.  A new approach to the design of intermittent water
are now operated intermittently in violation of their concep- supply networks. In Proceedings of World Water and
tual design basis. The negative impacts of this unsatisfactory Environmental Resources Congress 2003. American Society of
mode of operation are numerous, ultimately preventing sat- Civil Engineering, Philadelphia, USA, vol. 118, pp. 123–123.
Bradley, R. M., Weeratane, S. & Mediwake, T. M. M.  Water
isfactory technical solutions in water distribution. These
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improved. Butler, D. & Memon, F.  Water Demand Management. IWA
Publishing, London.
In discussing possible causes and effects of intermittent
Cabrera-Bejar, J. A. & Tzatchkov, V. G.  Inexpensive
water distribution and their interactions, this paper has modeling of intermittent service water distribution networks.
attempted to contribute to this point. In the technical range In Proceedings of the World Environmental and Water
of water distribution, the main causes described were Resources Congress 2009, 11th Water Distribution Systems
Analysis Symposium (WDSA09). American Society of Civil
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Engineering, Kansas City, USA, vol. 342, pp. 295–305.
tems, in systems planning and in infrastructure Cembrowicz, R. G., Deuerlein, J., Sanzenbacher, G., Gomer, D. &
management. Intermittent distribution mainly causes restric- Brade, R.  Mängelanalyse und Rehabilitation des
tions in the quality of supply (volume, availability, water Wasserversorgungsnetzes einer Algerischen Stadt, Beispiel
Tlemcen (Deficiency analysis and rehabilitation of the water
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First received 24 June 2011; accepted in revised form 19 September 2011

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