Local Governments could benefit greatly from better water management and a new series of manuals aim to help them achieve that goal. In recent moves in Queensland, Wide Bay Water Corporation, a commercial arm of Hervey Bay Council, has deferred an augmented dam for seven years and saved an estimated $4.6 million in interest on capital expenditure.
Gold Coast Water has reduced pipe breaks by 80–90 per cent and expects to save more than $4 million in repair and operational costs. To aid such moves, a comprehensive technical resource has been launched in Australia to help organisations reduce the amount of treated water disappearing from the country’s water distribution systems.
It is estimated up to a third of treated water is lost through bursts, overflows or leaks that could be prevented using appropriate management techniques. As government regulators look at legislative measures to require businesses to report on and better manage water losses from their systems, Wide Bay Water Corporation in partnership with the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, has released a series of manuals that provide a step by step guide to minimising these losses.
Based on International Water Association (IWA) methodologies, the manuals feature contributions from its Water Loss Task Force members including sole Australian representative and Wide Bay Water Corporation CEO, Tim Waldron.
As a set, the manuals lead water business managers through the total water loss management process. However, separately they address individual issues enabling water businesses to focus on their specific needs.
Queensland Environment Minister, Desley Boyle, recently launched the manuals. Minister Boyle said that Queensland’s future economic prosperity and capacity to cater for population growth had put water management high on the State Government’s agenda.
“We are beginning to understand the importance of using our water supplies more efficiently and getting value out of every drop,” she said. “In Australian cities, efficient water use is still perceived as an emergency measure only to be adopted during drought conditions, but in a country of such limited water resources, water efficiency must be the norm, not the exception.”
Minister Boyle said leakage reduction programs represented an enormous opportunity for water authorities to manage their water resources because, unlike the weather, leaks were something they could control. The Minister pointed to Wide Bay Water Corporation’s work in Hervey Bay, and with Gold Coast Water in a trial site at Burleigh, as examples of the good work that could be done to conserve precious water resources.
Using the techniques outlined in the manuals, Wide Bay Water Corporation has helped Gold Coast Water reduce pipe breaks by 80–90 per cent, which is expected to save more than $4 million in repair and operational costs. Recognised for its work throughout the world, Wide Bay Water Corporation’s manuals provide a comprehensive range of tools, checklists and formulas. They are split into the following topics:
- Manual 1 – Introduction to managing and reducing water losses from water distribution systems
- Manual 2 – Water audits
- Manual 3 – The economics of water loss management
- Manual 4 – Establishing Pressure Management Zones and District Metered Areas: The toolkit
- Manual 5 – Advanced pressure management and PRV selection
- Manual 6 – Real loss management (Leak detection and control methodologies)
- Manual 7 – Managing apparent losses
- Manual 8 – Case studies in water loss management
- Manual 9 – Rural water loss management
- Manual 10 – Executive summary.
Manuals and software packages can be ordered by contacting Wide Bay Water Corporation on (07) 4197 4111.
