Reducing water leakage by 43% within six months
See how a water utility in Czech Republic reduced its non-revenue water levels permanently
The water and sewage company in Teplice operates the largest regional water supply system and distribution network in nearly 400 settlements in the Czech Republic.
However, their water supply system was in a bad shape – suffering from high levels of leakage from 20-40% and an unbalanced flow and pressure distribution.
They realised that they needed to get their water supply system into shape and ultimately provide an improved customer experience.
Implementation of DHI’s Leakage Monitor in close collaboration with the infrastructure owner and the operator.
Solution highlights:
ROI within just one year
43% reduction in six months – this early savings helped finance the solution
Estimated to be around
EUR 150,000
Executing a sustainable strategy for reducing high leakage levels
Veolia Voda, the water and sewage company in Teplice, was losing a lot of water – and, as a consequence, also money.
The primary reason was the poor condition of the city’s water supply system suffering from high levels of leakage of up to 40%, and an unbalanced flow and pressure distribution due to poor network zoning.
At the same time, a significant increase of the water supply capacity was demanded by the city’s expansion and development plan.
Veolia Voda invited DHI to help implement and execute a sustainable strategy for reducing the company’s non-revenue water (NRW).
Time consuming non-revenue water evaluations
Previously, the operating staff could mostly evaluate their NRW levels based on the balance of inflow and invoiced water in supply zones over a one-month period. The accuracy of this method was negatively affected by low water meter reading frequencies, seasonal changes and so on.
Additionally, leakage evaluations using night inflows were unsystematic, due to the immense work involved – especially in zones with several inflow/outflow points. It was also difficult to calculate NRW key performance indicators due to inconsistent data inputs.
As a result, the managers responsible for leakage detection control spent most of their time evaluating the data, leaving less time for managing operational works.
The NRW and leakage thresholds for supply zones were determined based on a simple technical evaluation. In many cases, incomparable workloads were required to achieve similar leakage savings in different districts. As such, the operator was not satisfied with the methodology based on pure technical evaluation.
Mapping the problems – developing the right strategy
Successful and long-term management of leakage levels requires an advanced system with reliable data.
In close collaboration with the network operator (SCVK a.s.) and the infrastructure owner (SVS a.s.), we began implementing our Leakage Monitor application.
How it works:
Implementing our Leakage Monitor led to significant positive results for Teplice.
Early payoff from the project
Nipping the problem in the bud resulted in immediate leakage savings right from the beginning. These savings were achieved very much due to the analysis of measurement campaigns and reparation of bulk leaks. As a result, the extent of water leakage in Teplice was quickly reduced – and contained – for a long period.
Yearly savings
The leakage level reduction in Teplice equates to an estimated yearly savings of EUR 150,000.
Reducing water leakage by 43% within six month
Teplice witnessed leakage levels reduction of up to 43% in six months. The decreased leakage level is now stable, proving the functional design of the sectored water distribution network.
The newly designed DMAs, together with the proposed pressure optimisation, make traditional pipe failure and leak detection methods much more effective.
Efficient operational management
The solution provides operating staff with an advanced technical evaluation and financial analysis-module. The outcome is a very tangible tool for active leakage management, and for making smart business decisions in leakage detection activities.
Severočeské Water and Sewerage Company (SCVK a.s.) is a subsidiary of Veolia Voda. It operates the largest regional water supply system and distribution network in nearly 400 settlements in the Czech Republic.
