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?
