Shocking Water Loss

Presentation to city council 11/6/14

In 2013, 131.32 million gallons of treated water was unaccounted for.

I may be accused of beating a dead horse but in my opinion the importance of this matter requires further study and action.

I note that the administration is now taking an added interest in this water loss problem.

After several days of searching the public record and talking with utility billing and water department personnel I collected the following historical data for 2013 that is included in the handout.

To review the numbers:

From the water department: 557 million gallons of treated water was delivered to the distribution system.

From utility billing office – 396.8 MG of treated water was sold.

The difference between water delivered and water sold was 160.7 MG.

Data on the back of the handout shows that in 2013 the unsold total of 29% was the highest amount over the past twelve years. I am unable to validate the RCAP consultant's conclusion, quote: “the amount of non-revenue water has been relatively stable with a four year average of 18.5%”

Non-revenue distribution is only part of my audit story. There are some known or metered outputs that must be added to the equation.

Authorized non-revenue distribution:

The water department used 27.1 MG*

From the utility billing department:

Waste water, city building & other city accounts use 2.37 MG of metered but not charged treated water.

This leave a balance of 131.32 MG

The balance of the treated water is non metered and, as indicated, only guesswork can provide an explanation for the loss

Some of this loss can be attributed to legitimate uses including fire hydrant flush, fire suppression, sprinkler tests etc: Some erroneous meter functions can be expected but 10% or around 500 meters are checked each year and 100 meters are replaced.

All non metered-not accounted for treated water equals 23.5% of all treated water in 2013. Again, quoting RCAP, “Water loss under 15% is considered acceptable

Quoting an EPA web site,”Average water loss in systems is 16% of which 75% is recoverable.”

Some leakage is to be expected but In my uneducated opinion a 24% loss rate is more than just excessive it's shocking!

The loss represents thousands of dollars per year in wasted treatment costs.

When the automatic flushing fire hydrant conversion is completed, more non-revenue water will be expended adding to the current problem.

This information is valid and action should be taken as outlined in the included internet link.

I am not aware of any attempts to contract for a professional, municipal leak detection service but it might be money well spent. There are many of them out there. Are their any questions?