Page 62 - Water Loss Control

44 Cha pte r F o u r

German water sector entitled W 392—Network Inspection and Water Loss—Activities, Pro-
cedures, and Assessments. They require the water supplier to assess and analyze the water
system condition, to calculate and analyze water losses and to employ efficient water
loss reduction measures.
Following the W 392 guidelines, German water utilities pursue a comprehensive
maintenance strategy which includes asset management as well. Distribution network
maintenance in Germany comprises regular inspections of the system and its compo-
nents, preventive and corrective maintenance, and repair and rehabilitation. A very
interesting aspect of the German approach is that maintenance activities are taken into
full account in the planning and construction phases. Establishing DMAs during con-
struction of network extensions and installing bulk meters on transmission mains for
timely leak detection are examples of this holistic approach. The German guidelines
stress the need for comprehensive metering of production, distribution, and customer
consumption in order to balance flows and monitor real loss levels with great accuracy.
German regulations require water utilities to conduct an annual water audit using a
method with precise definitions of each component of the water balance. The recom-
mended format of the water balance is in accordance with the IWA recommendations
8
from the IWA Manual of Best Practice. The W 392 guidelines discourage the use of
output/input percentages as a real loss indicator by stating: “expressing real losses as a
percentage of the system input volume is unsuitable as a technical performance indica-
tor since it does not reflect any of the influencing factors. Systems with higher system
input volumes (e.g., urban systems) will automatically have an (apparently) lower level
of water losses if expressed in percentages. Systems with low water consumption (e.g.,
rural systems) will show high percentage figures of real losses. Therefore, comparisons
using percentages will always favor systems with high system input.” 9,4

Australia 10
The Australian water industry consists of over 300 water utilities. Most authorities/
utilities are publicly owned in Australia, with many part of national or local govern-
ment. Australia entered into a multiyear period of severe drought starting in 2002; an
event that is threatening the existence of its agriculture industry and has thrust water
loss management into the national political limelight. Over the past 2 to 3 years water
loss management activities in Australia have grown substantially in importance for the
water industry, as sustainable water management has become an issue of concern for
the broader Australian community. The increased focus on water loss management has
been led by IWA Water Loss Task Force Deputy Chair Tim Waldron who is the CEO of
a medium-sized utility in Australia, Wide Bay Water Corporation.
On a world scale, water losses in Australia are quite low (infrastructure leakage
index is typically between 1 and 1.7). These low levels of water loss are the result of;
relatively new infrastructure, quick response times to known bursts and high standards
for assets selection and asset management throughout the Australian water industry.
Despite these relatively low levels of water loss, the recent focus and investment by
the water industry in water loss management has been driven by three fundamentals:

1. Very severe droughts and water scarcity in many of Australia’s largest cities
and populated regions
2. Government regulation regarding water loss management
3. Increased government funding for water loss management activities