Clean, safe and reliable water is a precious resource for which demand is rising continuously around the world. Automation products, such as drives and soft starters that can help prevent pressure shocks and flowmeters that accurately take the pulse of a water system, help minimize water leakage while also giving greater insight into the health of the network.
Like any other natural resource, water must be responsibly managed. In the water business, the term non-revenue water is used to signify water that is produced but “lost” before it reaches the customer. This wastage, often caused by system leakage, generates unnecessary additional expenses while simultaneously reducing revenues.
Water leakage can involve both slow, long-term leaks or sudden large-scale bursts, and occurs in pipes, joints, fittings and overflow service reservoirs. The causes include excessive hydraulic pressures, corrosion, erosion, thermal expansion and contraction, as well as changes in soil characteristics. Bursts in large water mains are perhaps the most obvious example of leakage, but even small leaks that go undetected can result in the loss of thousands of tons of water.
The economic costs of non-revenue water can be huge. Every liter lost to leakage must be replaced with an additional liter, meaning extra money spent on energy, labor, chemicals, etc. Similarly, wastewater leakage also has both economic and environmental costs. With leakage losses for some municipal water networks estimated as high as 40% of total flow, the resulting inefficiencies have massive impact on operating margins in terms of added costs and lost revenues.