Abstract
Abstract The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed and disseminated advanced methods and performance indicators for assessing and reducing water losses in North America, based in large part on the methods and indicators developed by the International Water Association (IWA). However, many utilities and regulators still use the old, inaccurate, %NRW indicator. A robust, quantitative assessment of the technical rigor of water loss indicators was needed but could not be found in the literature. So, an innovative approach was developed, using Frontier Analysis which provided such a score of ‘technical rigor’. This paper presents this method, applied to three datasets from North America, assessing 15 candidate indicators for total water losses, apparent losses and real losses. The results provide quantitative ‘scores’ of the technical rigor of the candidate indicators. Indicators with relatively high scores align with indicators used in the IWA best practices. Other indicators, such as the %NRW indicator, were found to have low technical rigor. The conclusion of the paper summarizes the rigorous indicators, and suggests areas for further application of this method, and for further research.
Highlights
Water utilities in North America face significant challenges from climate change, population growth, aging infrastructure, increasing non-revenue water, and declining consumption and revenues
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed and disseminated advanced methods and performance indicators for managing water losses, based in large part on the methods and indicators developed by the International Water Association (IWA)
Many utilities and regulators still use the old, inaccurate, %NRW indicator which has been shown by many authors to be misleading (Liemberger et al 2007; Lambert et al 1999, 2014; AWWA 2016; Trachtman & Wyatt 2019)
Summary
Water utilities in North America face significant challenges from climate change, population growth, aging infrastructure, increasing non-revenue water, and declining consumption and revenues. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed and disseminated advanced methods and performance indicators for managing water losses, based in large part on the methods and indicators developed by the International Water Association (IWA). Many utilities and regulators still use the old, inaccurate, %NRW indicator which has been shown by many authors to be misleading (Liemberger et al 2007; Lambert et al 1999, 2014; AWWA 2016; Trachtman & Wyatt 2019). The use of this flawed indicators leads to inaccurate target setting, poor planning, and inferior results of water loss reduction and control programs. An analysis of basic results of the use of FWAS from 2010 to 2015 was published in 2016 (Sayers et al 2016)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
