Iken Services Ltd. services

A water audit enables municipalities to determine the water supplied, consumed, and lost in distribution systems. Accounting for this water use and loss allows utilities to make informed decisions on operations, maintenance, capital investment, and customer service programs. It also allows the municipality to calculate what that lost water is costing.

Pressure management strategies can be simple or complex when used to reduce water loss. The provider must balance the flow requirements of the customer and fire safety requirements of the community when adjusting system pressures.Water pressure has a substantial impact on water loss. The higher the pressure, the more water is lost through leaks. In many cases, pressure reduction is advised. It is widely considered that a 1% reduction in pressure could reduce existing system leak flow rates by between 0.5% up to 1.5% depending on pipe materials and type of leak. Pressure variations and surges (often referred to as “Water Hammer”) can increase the frequency of water leakage. Knowing system pressure variations and attempting to mitigate the causes creating these conditions can calm the system operation.

Night Flow Analysis can be used to determine the differences in consumer night use and water loss for a defined area. Differences in nighttime flow rates between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.can assist in determining water leak quantities in a district-metered area (DMA)*. Nighttime flow analysis in conjunction with district-metered areas will provide the municipality with functional metering information to assess system water use and leakage flow rates. The utility can prioritize its active leak control program in areas that experience sudden or elevated nighttime flow rates within a DMA. Step Testing is a term used for isolating sections of a DMA by closing valves in the network of pipe. (The “Step” refers to the drop in flow on a graph if a leak is isolated from the flow rate being measured.)

Active leak detection is instrumental in finding unreported water leakage and losses within distribution systems. The water distribution system is surveyed to pinpoint water losses from buried infrastructure. Finding and repairing water losses through an active leak detection program reduces water loss and in many cases, saves the municipality substantial money. Emergency repair is much more expensive than planned, scheduled repair. Without a leak detection program, leaks may only be found when they become visible at the surface or when major infrastructure collapses.