Clean, safe and reliable water is a precious resource. Automation products, such as drives and soft starters, which can help reduce the impact of water hammer, and flowmeters, which report the actual flow of the 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 managed responsibly. One area where this can be addressed is with non-revenue water, which is water that is lost before it reaches the customer. This non-revenue water, often caused by leaks, requires wasted effort to process product that will never generate revenue or even be used.
Water loss can be through slow, long-term leaks or sudden large-scale breaks. These can occur in pipes, joints, fittings and overflow service reservoirs. Pressure fluctuations, corrosion, root penetration, thermal expansion and contraction, erosion, and changes in soil characteristics can all cause water loss. Breaks in large water mains are perhaps the most obvious example of water loss, but even small leaks that go undetected can result in the loss of thousands of gallons of water over time.
The impact of non-revenue water can be huge. Each gallon lost must be replaced with an additional gallon, requiring extra cost for processing, including energy, labor, chemicals, etc. With leakage losses for some municipal water networks estimated as high as 40%, the resulting inefficiencies have a massive impact on operating margins in terms of added costs and lost revenues.
Additionally, water loss can impact the environment by eroding soil, creating sink holes, and damaging roads. Similarly, wastewater can back-up into basements, contaminate streams, lakes, and oceans, and can result in the need for expensive environmental cleanup as well as massive fines.