Abstract

Leakage is one of the main sources of water loss in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs). Although a water utility intends to reduce the leakage to the minimum possible level, considering the high leakage reduction costs, an economic perspective of leakage control should be taken into account. In this paper, a field-data based methodology for estimating the Short-Run Economic Level of Leakage (SR-ELL) with respect to Active Leakage Control (ALC) activities is proposed. This methodology uses measured pressure and flows data for the estimation of different leakage levels and relevant performance indicators. The objective is to identify the target level of leakage in terms of the SR-ELL, using a marginal cost approach. Results of the sensitivity analysis are also presented to investigate the factors influencing SRELL. The methodology is applied to a large zone of WDN in the city of Mashhad, Iran. For this WDN, based on the current ALC policy and operating pressure, SRELL is estimated to be 27 m³/service connection/year. The results reveal that the SRELL is significantly affected by the operating pressure and infrastructure condition. The proposed methodology can be used by water utilities for having a clear strategy on their leakage control policies.

摘要

漏水是水分配网络（WDN）中水损失的主要来源之一。尽管自来水公司打算将泄漏量减少到最小程度，但考虑到较高的泄漏减少成本，应从经济角度考虑泄漏控制。本文提出了一种基于现场数据的方法，用于估计与主动泄漏控制（ALC）活动有关的短期泄漏经济水平（SR-ELL）。这种方法使用测得的压力和流量数据来估算不同的泄漏水平和相关的性能指标。目的是使用边际成本方法确定根据SR-ELL的目标泄漏水平。还提供了敏感性分析的结果，以研究影响SRELL的因素。该方法适用于伊朗马什哈德市的WDN大区域。对于此WDN，根据当前的ALC策略和操作压力，SRELL估计为27 m³ /服务连接/年。结果表明，SRELL受工作压力和基础设施条件的影响很大。供水企业可以使用提出的方法来制定明确的泄漏控制策略。