The Entrepreneurial Approach to Implementing a Leakage Control System in Municipal Networks - Case Studies

Reduction of water leakage and waste in municipal networks is primarily an economic problem. The two principal questions to be considered by both operational and financial managers are always: 1. How much can be invested?, and 2. How much will be saved by that investment? If it can be shown that the return on investment is economically viable with a reasonable “pay-back” in months rather than years, leakage or more precisely ”unaccounted for water” is tackled and the problem is dealt with. Occasionally reducing leakage or reducing background consumption for example by installing water-conserving devices, will always result in added benefits. It is generally accepted that selective reduction in pressure across a pipe network will result in a reduced number of burst pipe occurrences and therefore reduced maintenance and repair costs as well as extending the operational life of the system. Similarly, reducing consumption by education, good housekeeping and the introduction of water saving products will extend the availability of the water resource and postpone the need to invest in the development of alternative water sources.