Definition of Physical Water Losses

PHYSICAL WATER LOSSES
Definition of Physical Water Losses

Water losses occur in all distribution networks, even new ones. Physical water losses, sometimes
called ‘real losses’ or ‘leakage’, includes the total volume of water losses minus commercial
losses.
Components of Physical Water Losses

The three main components of physical water losses include:
• Leakage from transmission and distribution mains
• Leakage and overflows from the utility’s reservoirs and storage tanks
• Leakage on service connections up to the customer’s meter
The first and second types of leakage are usually quite visible to either the public or utility staff,
so they are easy to detect and are repaired relatively quickly. The third type is more difficult to
detect and can therefore lead to a greater volume of physical water losses.
Sources of Physical Water Losses

• Leakages in valves
• Overflows at the collection and treatment tank
• Back flow of pumped water that has remained in the transmission main
• Burst on distribution mains
• Leakages on service lines
• Leakages on transmission and distribution pipes
• Faulty ball valve
• Leakages at the joints as well as on the pumping main
• Evaporation
Causes of Physical Water Loses

• Malfunction of the ball valves
• Heavy traffic
• Poor quality of pipes
• Lack of technical support
• Pipe diameter small compared to the pump capacity hence
• causing burst
• Leakage at customer point
• Back washing of filters
Characteristics of Leakages
The type and location (e.g. main or service connection) of a burst influences the total run time:
• Reported bursts:
Visible and usually quickly reported by the public or observed by water utility staff. They have a
short awareness time.
• Unreported bursts:
Commonly occur underground and are not visible at the surface.
They are usually discovered during leak detection surveys and often have a long awareness time.
• Background leakage:
An accumulation of very small leaks that are difficult and not cost effective to detect and repair
individually.
Controlling Technical Losses

Designing an effective leakage reduction and maintenance strategy helps in reducing physical
water losses and in improving management of the network.
The approach for reducing water losses includes a set of programs and activities aimed at the
optimization of water supply by:
• Controlling leakages in pipelines, distribution mains, and networks,
• Controlling overflows in the storage tanks,
• Improved operation and maintenance of water networks and
• Sound management practices.
It is always the small leaks that leak for a long time that are responsible for the biggest volume of
water lost. The big bursts that come to the surface are normally repaired quickly and the volume
of water lost is therefore small. In general, more than 90% of all leaks do not come to the surface
and can only be detected with various types of leak detection equipment.
Another important aspect is zoning of the distribution network. Especially if the infrastructure is
in poor condition it is extremely difficult to successfully manage physical water losses at low
levels in large network zones. Small zones are needed (called DMAs – District Metered Areas)
to keep leakage levels low and these small zones are also useful for pressure management.
Techniques of Reducing Physical Water Losses

This involves developing a Sustainable Leakage Control Strategy. The Challenge for Water
Service Providers is to move from passive to a pro-active mode! This involves three levels of
decision making:
o First Level of Action: Doing the obvious (simple and cheap): Identifying, locating and
repairing visible leaks
o Second Level of Action: Localizing and repairing non-visible leaks (listening devices)
o Third Level of Action: The advanced and sustainable stage: establishing district metered
areas (DMAs) and introducing pressure management
Figure: Visible leak
The Physical Loss Reduction Checklist

• Change management focus
• Improve speed and quality of repairs
• Introduce active leakage control
• Review, improve operating practices
• Introduce network zoning and DMAs
• Practice pressure management
• Apply good asset management
Figure: Change management focus
Benefits for Reducing Physical Water Losses

• Increased access: more water available especially for the poor
• Payment according to consumption perceived as fair
• Fewer consumer complaints
• Increased revenue for operation and maintenance (O&M) due to improved management
• Improved efficiency of investment due to the shift from supply to demand management
Locating Non-visible Leaks

This involves a routine program for finding and locating leaks.
Many techniques and instruments are currently in use such as:
• Listening sticks
• Ground microphone
• Leak noise correlator
• Noise loggers
Figure: Leak detection equipment
COMMERCIAL LOSSES
Definition of Commercial Water Losses

Commercial water losses, sometimes called ‘apparent losses’, include water that is consumed but
not paid for by the user.
In most cases, water has passed through the meters but is not recorded accurately. In contrast to
leaks or reservoir overflows, the lost water is not visible, which leads many water utilities to
overlook commercial water losses and concentrate instead on physical water losses.
Commercial water losses can amount to a higher volume of water than physical water losses and
often have a greater value, since reducing commercial water losses increases revenue, whereas
physical water losses reduce production costs.
For any profitable utility, the water tariff will be higher than the variable production cost
sometimes up to four times higher. Thus, even a small volume of commercial loss will have a
large financial impact
An additional benefit in reducing commercial water losses is that it can be accomplished quickly
and effectively.
Causes of Commercial Water Losses

• Customer meter inaccuracy
• Unauthorized consumption
• Meter reading errors
• Data handling and accounting errors
The four pillars of commercial water losses are:
• Meter errors
• Meter under registration
• Water accounting errors
• Water theft
Figure: Pillars of commercial water losses
Illegal Connections
• Meter bypass
• Illegal connection from the mains to the house
• Illegal connections ending up in the garden
• Illegal reconnection by people who have been disconnected
• Putting illegal flexible pipes which they bury in the garden during the day and unfold at
night so as to fill a domestic tank
Meter Inaccuracies
a) Meters getting stuck. This is caused by among others;
• Meter tampering
• Soil getting into the meter (poor water quality)
• Poor quality meters and materials
b) Negative reading caused by;
• Poor installation and layout
• Reversal of meters by consumers
c) Meter under registering caused by
• Poor installation
• Low water pressure
• Quality of water (water which contains debris directly affects the gears. Water with a lot
of solvents eventually coats the pipes and the inside of the meter.)
d) Meter over registering;
• Air in the system
• Unsuitable meter size, meter flow profile
• Lack of proper maintenance and replacement.
Data Handling Errors and their Causes

• Mixed figures
• Poor handwriting
• Corruption of meter readers
• Estimates due to inaccessibility of meters
• Employing relatives –incompetent employees
• Wrong computation
• Older contractor goes with all the data
• Fatigue on the part of the meter readers
• Faulty equipment –meters
• Meter maintenance and management policy
• Wrong reading

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PHYSICAL WATER LOSSES

Definition of Physical Water Losses

Components of Physical Water Losses

Sources of Physical Water Losses

Causes of Physical Water Loses

Controlling Technical Losses

Techniques of Reducing Physical Water Losses

The Physical Loss Reduction Checklist

Benefits for Reducing Physical Water Losses

Locating Non-visible Leaks

Definition of Commercial Water Losses

Causes of Commercial Water Losses

Figure: Pillars of commercial water losses

Data Handling Errors and their Causes

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