A roadmap for cutting the water loss / leakage rate

Measure first: the IWA water balance

The water entering the system is broken down into billed consumption, unbilled legitimate consumption, apparent losses (meter error, unauthorised use) and real losses (leakage, bursts, overflows). No target can be set without this table. Output: the NRW rate, the loss volume (m³/yr) and its monetary value.

The four levers

• Pressure management — reducing excess pressure immediately lowers the leak flow and the number of new bursts.
• Active leakage control — using DMA + acoustic surveying to find unknown leaks and repair them without delay.
• Speed and quality of repair — the time a leak runs from detection to repair is directly a loss volume.
• Infrastructure management — planned renewal of chronically failing mains.

The eight-step programme

1. Data collection and water balance

Reservoir inlet records, customer meter readings and the network map are brought together; the baseline NRW is calculated.

2. Mapping the pressure zones

High-pressure zones are identified; pressure-reducing valve (PRV) locations are planned.

3. Pilot DMA setup

A DMA is set up in a zone with high suspected loss, and the minimum night flow is measured.

4. Active survey

Acoustic detection + step testing are applied in the pilot zone and the points are reported.

5. Fast repair cycle

Each point found is prioritised and passed to the repair crew; a check listen is done after repair.

6. Meter verification

The meters of large customers are tested; slow or stopped meters inflate apparent losses.

7. Roll-out

The method that works in the pilot is extended DMA by DMA across the city.

8. Permanent monitoring

Every DMA's night flow is monitored continuously; when a threshold is passed, the zone is surveyed again. The gain is only kept with this monitoring.

What to expect

Pressure management gives a measurable drop within weeks. Active leakage control brings a clear fall in NRW in the first year. A lasting result requires the programme to run without interruption — when it is dropped, loss climbs back a few points a year.

• Service scope: Field services
• Platform support: Web + mobile platform
• Example applications: Projects