Abstract
Water losses in water distribution networks (WDNs) are unavoidable. Water losses are evaluated based on performance indicators (PIs) and used for future recommendations for network operators to take measures against water losses. However, these evaluations primarily focus on large and medium sized WDN and do not deal with the challenges of small WDNs (e.g., technical, and financial limitations, missing data). Therefore, an appropriate water loss management is a major challenge for operators in the federal state of Tyrol (Austria) due to the high number of small WDNs, e.g., low income in combination with long network lengths. In this regard, this work specifies and discusses state funding in Austria to support network operators to reduce water losses. To assess the impacts on management strategies, 40 WDNs, supplying 200 to 16,000 inhabitants, are investigated in detail. As the comparison of different PIs shows, a volume related PI (e.g., water loss volume divided by total water demand) is recommend as the decision criterion for local authorities due to minimal efforts and its easy calculation. Moreover, public funding helps to significantly reduce water losses in individual systems, but countermeasures should be different for small and larger WDNs. For example, leakage detection campaigns and rehabilitation planning based on pipe age should be established in future for larger WDNs in Tyrol. In contrast, an online flow metering system to monitor system inflows is suggested for small WDNs. Based on measurement data, leakages and burst can be detected and repaired swiftly.
Highlights
Water loss in water distribution networks (WDNs) can be defined as the difference between the quantity of drinking water fed to the system and the metered and billed water consumption [1,2]
Smaller systems with low water demands had a wide variation of that performance indicators (PIs)
There was no correlation between water demand and PIILI, which was indicated by a pearson correlation coefficient of 0.24
Summary
Water loss in water distribution networks (WDNs) can be defined as the difference between the quantity of drinking water fed to the system and the metered and billed water consumption [1,2] These losses, called non-revenue water (NRW), consist of unbilled but authorized water consumption (e.g., extractions from hydrants), apparent losses (e.g., unauthorized water extractions or meter inaccuracies), and real losses caused by leakages [1,2], whereby the greatest influence on water balance is from real losses [3]. Water losses in WDNs vary widely depending on the maintenance efforts In this context, water losses can be as high as 40% and 80% of system inputs in Europe [4] and developing countries [5], respectively, while being on average between 16% and 30% [4,5,6]. Leakages represent a major challenge in sustainable agriculture and food growing, whereas water losses reduce the amount of available water and further increase the resource conflict between agriculture and domestic water
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