1. Component Analysis of Apparent Losses Paul Fanner

2. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 2 Overview Introduction Components of managing apparent losses Meter under-registration Meter reading errors Water accounting errors Unauthorized use (theft) Conclusions Case study - Philadelphia

3. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 3 Apparent losses Are in many cases the most costly losses in a water system, as they are valued at retail $’s. In many cases generate sufficient new revenue to fund other less attractive but necessary areas of loss control Come in many forms and are not just metering losses

4. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 4 Four Components of Managing Apparent Losses

5. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 5 Meter Accuracy Error Meters can be in error for a number of reasons: Wear over time, excess volume or abrasive waters, poor water quality, damage Incorrect installation or lack of maintenance –Installation attitude, straight pipe lengths, strainer Incorrect sizing Incorrect meter type for the application Spinning or jetting Environmental problems such as freezing or over heating Low flow rates due to storage tanks Good installation, selection & sizing practice routine testing and replacement will resolve these issues

6. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 6 As meters age or pass excessive volumes they often tend to start to under register. While the actual aging or volumes themselves are not the cause of the error, they are often used to decide when a meter should be either tested or changed Wear and tear is usually caused by: Aggressive waters Environmental problems such as heat or cold Entrapped air causing high velocities Incorrect installation causing axial/bearing wear Sediment or grit may interfere with the mechanics of the meter so that the meter fails to register flow at all Meters Wear Over Time

7. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 7 New Small Meter Error Curve

8. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 8 Typical Small Meter Error Curve

9. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 9 Ageing of Positive Displacement Meters

10. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 10 Ageing of Velocity Meters

11. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 11 USA State requirements for meter testing Time Maximum 20 years (California) Minimum 5 years (Colorado, Kentucky and New York) Average out of 22 States listed was 9.36 years The most common period was 10 years (14 cases out of 22) Volume Maximum 750,000 (New York, New Jersey) Minimum 100,000 (Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania) Average 250,000 (out of 10 States cited) Most common volume was 100,000 (6 out of 10 States cited)

12. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 12 Incorrect Installation or Lack of Maintenance If meters are installed incorrectly they will not read correctly and may suffer excessive wear Incorrect meter installations include: Inclined meters Insufficient upstream and downstream diameters Exposure to harmful environmental conditions Installations which allow vandalism Installations which do not allow easy meter reader access Installations which which allow the bearings to run dry as in the case of intermittent supply

13. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 13 Flow Profiling Meters have lower accuracy performance at low flows and this improves in the mid range close to the design flow of the meter The overall accuracy of a meter is a factor of the consumption profile of a consumer, (a function of the actual distribution of flows against the accuracy curve of the meter) Special problem: slow filling of roof tanks

14. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 14 Consumption Profiling

15. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 15 Error Curve of New Meter

16. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 16 Error Curve of Installed Meter

17. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 17 Weighted Average Error

18. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 18 Meter Sizing Meters often over-sized: Because they are often sized at the same size as the pipe they are installed on To cater for possible changes in consumption Or because of concerns over potential head losses through the meter Therefore the meter is often operating at the low end of its performance range and therefore significantly under-registering But take care not to under-size as well!

19. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 19 The example below shows an existing meter and flow profile and the example above the correctly sized meter

20. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 20 Correct Customer Meter Selection

21. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 21 Spinning or Jetting Spinning: meter over registers when air passes the meter (intermittent supply) Jetting: is caused by an obstacle upstream of the meter causing water to spurt through the mechanism, resulting also in a measurement of higher flows Volumetric meters suffer the same effect of spinning as jet meters but are largely immune to jetting

22. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 22 Low Flow Rates Caused by Tank Filling Systems with residential storage tanks will almost always have higher apparent losses due to meter under registration than systems with direct feed. This is due to the very low flows encountered during the end of the tank fill cycle Some systems are attempting to install on off consumer tank valves to ensure blocks of usage and therefore more accuracy, however for systems which do not have capacity at peak this can be a disadvantage as peak flows will increase UFR is another solution to this problem

23. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 23 Effects of Storage Tanks on Demand Blocks Q Time Q Direct feed Roof tank feed Q Start up

24. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 24 Four Components of Managing Apparent Losses

25. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 25 Causes of Meter Reading Errors In many situations data can be recorded correctly by the meter but transferred Incorrectly due to: Hard to access / read meters Illegible meter dials Meter reader error in the case of manual reads “Café” readings Fraudulent readings Scaling problems Zero problems Pulse or factor problems Poor customer accountability Absence of reading validation and follow up Failure to follow up meter reading problem codes Absence of reading validation and follow up Failure to follow up meter reading problem codes

26. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 26 Improvement of Meter Reading Introduction of electronic meter reading devices (or even Automated Meter Reading (AMR)) Reading validation routines on meter reading device Supervision, control and spot-checks of meter readers Rotation of meter readers to other areas to prevent fraudulent practices Monitoring and verification of monthly consumption in the billing system Investigation of high / low / zero consumptions Investigation and resolution of meter reading problem codes

27. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 27 Four Components of Managing Apparent Losses

28. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 28 Data Analysis Errors Once data arrives at the utility office it can often be misused Billing systems not designed to retain integrity of consumption data Estimates are generated and volumes inferred Reversal of previous over-estimates Rebates are given and volumes inferred Customers can be lost or temporarily transferred to other accounting systems Routine audits, system upgrades, operator education and clear operating guidelines will resolve many of these problems

29. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 29 Four Components of Managing Apparent Losses

30. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 30 Theft and Illegal Consumption In many situations clients may Not report a connection Make a bypass Tamper with the meter Misuse fire hydrants to supply various activities – Street cleaning, refill boat tanks etc Routine inspections, prepay schemes, legal action and flow and pressure control will resolve many of these problems

31. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 31 Meter Tampering, Bypasses, etc. Regular inspection Comparison of customer consumption to average values Regulation and legislation Public information campaign

32. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 32 Geo-referencing of customers Customer database to be linked with GIS Allocation of customers to individual zones and DMAs Use of satellite images and GIS to locate potential areas with illegal connections

33. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 33 Customer information in the GIS blue: metered customers red: unmetered customers Typical GIS- based Water Accounting Tool Malta WSC

34. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 34 Illegal Connections

35. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 35

36. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 36 Understand your losses by quantifying them Tackle those components of the 4-arrow methodology that provide the highest returns first Do not assume that findings and conclusions of other water companies can be applied blindly to your scenario. Look at the economics of the loss scenario – apparent loss reduction normally has very short payback times Conclusions

37. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 37 P hiladelphia’s Water Audit Summary July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002 in Million Gallons Per Day (Mgd) Water into Distribution - 263.0 Customer Billed Usage - 177.6 85.4 Non-Revenue Water Non-Revenue Water Components Authorized Usage 3.1 $ 146,000 Apparent Losses 13.1 $ 9,036,000 Real Losses 69.2 $ 3,369,000 Non-Revenue Water Cost: $ 12,551,000 Infrastructure Leakage Index = 69.2/5.3 = 13.1 Non-Revenue Cost Ratio = $12.5/$155 million = 8.09%

38. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 38 Features of the Philadelphia Audit Includes over 90 detailed components of usage and losses Costs are evaluated, including: Four levels of Retail Costs for Apparent Loss (Residential, ICI, City Property and Average) Short-term Marginal Production Costs for Real Losses: $121.70 per mg Liability Costs for incidents related to Real Losses: $295,600 total for the year Currently no assessment of long-term costs (Environmental, political, social)

39. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 39 Features of the Philadelphia Audit Top-down audit until 2000 Bottom-up started in 2000, including Nightflow leakage measurements in 4 pilot DMAs Revenue Protection Program targeting specific areas of Apparent Loss Balancing Error This is not “unaccounted-for” water! Determined to be 26.3 Mgd after preliminary audit completed (out of 82.3 Mgd of water losses) The Balancing Error is apportioned over the three major leakage components

40. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 40 Quantifying Components of Water Use and Loss Water Usage and Water Loss are quantified by either: Measurement OR Estimation Using Estimates does not imply inaccuracy or “unaccounted-for” water Bottom-up approach replaces Estimates with Measurements

41. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 41 Quantifying Components of Water Use and Loss Measurement Permanent meters on source supply mains and customer service connections Portable/temporary meters on distribution mains, fire hydrants (fire flow tests), other devices Estimation Inferred - based in part on gathered data to arrive at a reasonable quantity –Example: Illegal Restores (Items III-8, III-9, III-10 in Audit) Subjective - best judgement of the most knowledgeable stakeholder –Example: Unauthorized Fire Hydrant Usage (III-4, III-5, III-6)

42. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 42 Master Meter Verification If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it! Bulk Source Flows should be metered Bulk Flows should be configured to determine water delivery on a daily basis Flow data should be reviewed and reconciled daily Mass Balance Technique compares Raw Water Pumping, Treatment flowrates and delivered flowrates Routine Meter Testing/Verification should occur

43. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 43 Authorized Usage Customer Billed Usage: 177.6 Mgd Billed Unmetered: 0.594 Mgd (to new wholesale supply unmetered for part of year) Unbilled Authorized Usage: 2.483 Mgd Largest components include High Pressure Fire System, various fire hydrant usage and system maintenance Cost: $145,984 Total: 180.677 Mgd

44. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 44 Apparent Loss Components Estimated to be 13.1 Mgd Cost: $9 million in lost revenue annually Under-estimating Apparent Losses causes Over- estimation of Real Losses Largest Components Unauthorized Usage: 5.1 Mgd City Properties: 4 Mgd Accounts Lacking Proper Billing: 2.25 Mgd

45. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 45 Apparent Loss Idiosyncrasies Customer Metered Usage Vs. Customer Billed Usage A sampling of Customer Billed Usage: 8-inch meters Month # of Accounts Usage (100 cubic feet) July 1999 71 177,312 Aug 1999 70 -134,825 Sept 1999 69 246,923 Oct 1999 68 178,278 It’s important to find out what the Billing System does to Metered Data

46. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 46 More Apparent Loss Idiosyncrasies Philadelphia has 474,657 Billed Accounts But - - Philadelphia also has 85,898 Non-Billed Accounts! Non-billed Accounts: Typically a temporary status, yet accounts often remain indefinitely Eight categories of NB’s include unoccupied properties, non-payment shutoffs, other Invalid NB Accounts: a primary target of Philadelphia’s Revenue Protection Program

47. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 47 Real Loss Components Real Losses: 69.2 Mgd Real Losses Cost: $3.4 million of excess production costs each year Largest Components Customer Service Line Leaks: 33 Mgd Main Leaks: 29 Mgd Unavoidable Annual Real Losses: 5.3 Mgd Four Pilot DMA’s: 0.36 Mgd (> 1% of system miles) Main Breaks - less than 0.1 Mgd, yet these drive our Capital Water Main Replacement Program!

48. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 48 Unavoidable Real Losses Four Components of Managing Real Losses Improved response time for leak repair Active Leakage Control: Leak Surveys NightFlow Analysis Improved System Maintenance Replacement Rehabilitation Existing Real Losses Economic Level Pressure Management Philadelphia can gain from Improved Leak Repair response time, particularly for customer service line leaks

49. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 49 Four Components of Managing Apparent Losses Unavoidable Apparent Loss Unauthorized Consumption Theft and illegal consumption Data transfer errors between meter and archives Poor customer accountability Data analysis Errors Between archived data and data used for billing/water balance Existing Apparent Losses Economic Level Meter accuracy error Philadelphia can gain from unauthorized use reduction, better none billed account control and Billing System improvements to reduce data analysis error

50. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 50 Using the Water Audit and Moving Forward Tracking aggregate performance year-to-year Compare with IWA water audits of other systems Target-setting: currently analyzing means of setting long- term target for loss reduction (setting economic levels of Real and Apparent Losses) Loss control interventions being pursued: Real Losses: pilot DMAs, long-term policy changes regarding leaking customer service lines Apparent Losses: Revenue Protection Program focusing on none billed accounts, city properties. Long-term Billing System structural changes are likely needed. Also, continue to reduce unauthorized usage

51. IDB NRW Workshop, Georgetown, Guyana 19th-21st May 2009 51 Contact Information: George Kunkel, Philadelphia Water Department Telephone (215) 685-9635 E-mail george.kunkel@phila.gov