Orange County Water Loss Control Program

Transcription

1 Orange County Water Loss Control Program A New Model for Regional Collaboration Striving to Achieve an Economically Optimized Level of Water Loss North American Water Loss Conference 2017

2 Who Is MWDOC? Orange County has 32 retail water agencies and a diverse water supply including imported water, ground water, recycled water, and water use efficiency that serves 3.2 million residents Municipal Water District of Orange County

3 Water Loss Control in California Annual reporting Senate Bill 555 (DWR): Level 1 validated water audits Annual improvements (water losses and/or data) Targets Senate Bill 555 and EO B (SWRCB): To be determined one size does not fit all Will debut in July 2020

4 The MWDOC Water Loss Control Program Started in 2016 to empower Orange County agencies to: Comply with state water loss regulations Achieve cost-justified distribution efficiency Develop fluency in water loss analysis and management Technical Assistance Work Group Shared Services Agencies pick which technical assistance and shared services tasks they want to pursue

5 The MWDOC Water Loss Control Program 5-year plan allows agencies to collect missing information, improve data sources, consider economics, and refine implementation Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Initial Analyses Refinement Economics Implementation Evaluation compile a water audit to assess water loss and identify data gaps improve the water audit and confirm water loss performance distinguish apparent and real loss component volumes, evaluate economics, and design water loss control programs implement pilot interventions against water loss and prepare to meet state distribution efficiency targets evaluate pilot intervention success and implement a flexible, long-term water loss management program achieve and maintain cost-effective water distribution efficiency

6 Progress So Far 21 agencies have participated in technical assistance 2 years of water audits 7 agencies that tested customer meters through the MWDOC program Acquisition of a USBR grant for regional leak detection Work group meetings have discussed AMI systems, leak management economics, state regulation, customer meter performance, and more.

7 Findings: Year-to-Year Variability

8 Findings: Year-to-Year Variability Half of the agencies results in year 1 and year 2 were comparable. Half of the agencies results changed significantly due to: Source meter accuracy measured and incorporated Meter register units corrected AMI data issues solved True leakage reduction Understanding water loss performance takes more than one audit!

9 Findings: Customer Meter Accuracy Agencies randomly tested small customer meters for volumetric accuracy. Test results indicated: No relationship between meter age and accuracy No relationship between meter throughput and accuracy Customer meters are often pulled prematurely Removing meters on an age-based schedule may not be the best way to maintain the customer meter population. Other factors likely influence meter accuracy (water quality, pressure, customer use patterns, etc.).

10 Findings: Customer Meter Accuracy n = 2352

11 Findings: Common Data Challenges Source meter accuracy Meters aren t accessible Meters are owned by another agency (MWDSC) Volumetric testing feasibility Customer meter accuracy Test data is not yet available or extensive enough Meter population is in transition Pressure Field data is not available and/or representative

12 Results Orange County region: 27,400 AF of water loss $26.6 million value Metric OC Median n = 29 Units Apparent Loss 7 gal / conn / day Real Loss 22 gal / conn / day Water Loss 33 gal / conn / day Infrastructure Leakage Index 1.3 Data Validity Score 66

13 Lessons for California Understanding water loss takes time (and money). One audit (or even two!) is not sufficient to assess performance. Regional cooperation can reduce the cost burden on individual agencies, promote best-practice sharing and more rapidly elevate foundation of knowledge. Component analysis of real and apparent loss is necessary for water loss management to be cost-justified and effective.

14 Next Steps in Orange County Regional leak detection program Refined insight into water loss volumes and intervention economics Year 3 goals each agency: Has a flexible, economically sound, customized water loss control program (monitoring and/or intervention) Can defend the extent of investment in water loss control to DWR/SWRCB

15 Next Steps in Orange County Year 3 activities: Water audit compilation and validation Source meter testing Large meter testing (especially for revenue maximization) Component Analysis of Real Losses to establish specific leakage profiles and determine cost-effectively recoverable leakage Water loss control program design

16 Thank You! Joe Berg Lucy Andrews