Clean, safe, and reliable water is a precious resource, and must be managed responsibly. You may be aware of the term ‘non-revenue water?’ This is water that is lost before it even reaches a consumer.

Water loss can be through slow, long-term leaks or sudden large-scale breaks. These can occur in pipes, joints, fittings, valves and overflow service reservoirs. Pressure fluctuations, corrosion, root penetration, thermal expansion and contraction, erosion, and changes in soil characteristics can all cause water loss. Breaks in large water mains are perhaps the most obvious example of water loss, but even small leaks that go undetected can result in the loss of thousands of gallons of water over time.

Unfortunately, effort is wasted on processing product that will never get used and will never generate revenue (hence, non-revenue water). The impact of non-revenue water can be huge. Each gallon lost must be replaced with an additional gallon, requiring extra cost for processing, including energy, labor, chemicals, etc. With leakage losses for some municipal water networks estimated as high as 40%, the resulting inefficiencies have a massive impact on operating margins in terms of added costs and lost revenues.

Water loss can also impact the environment by eroding soil, creating sink holes, and damaging roads. Similarly, wastewater can back-up into basements, contaminate streams, lakes, and oceans, and can result in the need for expensive environmental cleanup as well as massive fines.

ABB can help you address this issue and do a better job of managing this precious resource.

The good news is that modern technologies and automation products exist to minimize water leakage. Automation products, such as drives and soft starters, can help reduce the impact of water hammer. Flowmeters, which report the actual flow of a water system, can help minimize water leakage and provide greater insight into the health of a water distribution network.

To successfully address the issue of non-revenue water, it’s critical to work with specialists in this field. ABB offers automation expertise in water & wastewater industries to maintain constant pressure and accurate flow measurement to address the important issue of water loss. This provides water utilities with the ability to reduce damage to water distribution networks and enables detection of small leaks before they become big, expensive problems.

Learn more at https://new.abb.com/drives/