Water Losses in Aqueducts: Impacts and Management

Water leaks in aqueducts generate a significant economic and environmental impact, because the drinking water industry is extremely energy intensive. The paper outlines the scale of the problem. It then illustrates the guidelines defined by the IWA (International Water Association) for leak reduction. One of the approaches suggested by IWA is to implement efficient Active Leakage Control Systems, which allow for the daily monitoring of a district-level network, i.e., a network divided into Areas, which are in turn divided into Districts. Systems of this type require leak estimation algorithms, typically based on the district’s MNF (minimum nighttime flow). However, the algorithms traditionally used for this estimation present several critical issues. For this purpose, an alternative algorithm (HP-Leakage Detector) was developed. By operating solely based on measurements of the flow rates entering and exiting the district, this algorithm eliminates any subjectivity in the estimate and automatically adapts to the district’s constantly evolving characteristics. The paper further highlights the importance of monitoring not only leaks in the Distribution network, but also those in the Transmission network. Finally, a case study is presented that shows the significant benefits achievable through infrastructure management and pressure control, two other pillars of the IWA leak reduction strategy.