Page 276 - Water Loss Control

Contr olling Appar ent Losses—Systematic Data Handling Err ors 245

• Procedures: Do written procedures exist? Are procedures used to ensure that
consistent metering, meter reading, and billing functions are employed for all
customers? Are checks and balances built into the system to flag breakdowns or
gaps in the process?
• Practices: Do the actual practices reflect the mandates of the procedures? Does
an effective training program exist to ensure that all employees are educated on
policy and procedures? Are meter readers, billing clerks, or similar employees
properly monitored and supervised to detect and minimize human error and
ensure that policies and procedures are being followed?

Additionally, when searching for more specific occurrences of apparent loss:
• Are certain classes of customers, such as municipal properties, exempt from
metering and billing? If so, how is their water consumption accounted for by
the water utility?
• Can customers enter a nonbilled status for conditions such as property vacancy,
delinquent or shutoff accounts, and the like? If so, are these accounts routinely
monitored to detect any water consumption in these supposed nonwater using
accounts?
• Are estimates of customer consumption employed if meter readings are not
available? If so, how accurately does the estimate reflect actual consumption?
Do checks exist to validate or periodically update the estimation protocol?
• Does a policy exist for enforcement to deter unauthorized consumption? Can
customers have service terminated for nonpayment? If so, are significant
numbers of customers illegally reactivating their service? Is there a mechanism
to detect and thwart this activity?
• Do programming algorithms incorporate billing adjustments that unduly modify
actual metered consumption data, such as shown in Tables 14.4 and 14.5?
• Are metering, meter reading, and billing functions actively tracked and
monitored by the issuance of routine management reports that are structured to
summarize performance, identify trends, and flag anomalies?
• Are customer consumption and billing trends evaluated on a regular basis to
discern specific and overall trends in consumption and loss patterns in response
to conservation, loss control programs, or demographic trends such as growth
in the industrial sector?

These are just some of the questions that might be posed during the bottom-up
audit of the data handling process. For every water utility certain unique processes can
exist and should be scrutinized by the auditor.

14.6 Quantifying Systematic Data Handling Errors in the Water Audit
and Addressing These Losses
A rough approximation of apparent loss due to systematic data handling error in the
customer billing system can be included in the initial top-down water audit. After
this, it is recommended to assign moderate staff or consultant resources to analyze the