Water Audits to Improve Control of Losses
Weston & Sampson has performed water audits for multiple communities. Among them:
Acton - Lincoln Water Departments
Weston & Sampson partnered with the Acton Water District and the Lincoln Water Department to demonstrate the applicability of the latest water audit procedure developed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) to medium and small water districts. This water audit procedure is the basis for water loss control guidance provided in AWWA Manual 36 “Water Audits and Loss Control Programs.” The two water audits and a related case study were prepared under a grant from the Massachusetts DEP to document the applicability of, and the level of effort to undertake, the M36 audit. The water audits of Acton and Lincoln demonstrate the efficacy of the AWWA methodology.
Hopkinton Water Department
Weston & Sampson was selected by the Town of Hopkinton to conduct a water audit of their system to help identify additional methods for reducing their unaccounted for water (UAW). Over the past five years the DPW has calculated UAW between 20-30%; values well above their Water Management Act Permit requirement of 10% or less. Although the DPW has taken several positive steps and implemented excellent practices under their 2010 UAW Compliance Plan, they have seen little impact to their UAW. Two water audits were performed: an annual audit and a short term (one-month) audit. In both cases the methodology presented in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) guidance manual (M36) and associated 2014 audit software was used.
Highlights of these projects include:
- water loss identification
- production and consumption analysis
- targeted loss control guidance
- MassDEP UAW reduction
- cost estimating
- water audit education