The Water Loss Training Days were held on 26 & 27 February 2015 in Auckland. The event was organised by Thomas Civil & Environmental Consultants Ltd, Auckland, and was attended by 45-50 people each day. The purpose of the training was to upskill water supply staff and others (consultants, suppliers, contractors etc.) in the area of water loss assessment and management. It was particularly relevant as the Department of Internal Affair’s mandatory performance reporting for councils includes a measure for ‘Real Water Losses’.
Attendees included 28 water supply staff from 18 councils nationwide, two staff from Water Authority Fiji, 9 consultants, 3 maintenance contractor staff, 4 suppliers (including a representative from Zenner International, Thailand) and 5 sponsor staff, which provided a great mix of people for the event.
The training was carried out by Richard Taylor (Thomas Civil & Environmental Consultants Ltd), with assistance from Ian Maggs (Water Loss Management Pty Ltd, Sydney), Charles Chapman (Detection Services Ltd) and Kevin Head (Arthur D Riley Ltd). Short presentations on managing water losses were also made Barry Sarjeant from Tauranga City Council and Nick Urlich from Wellington Water
On the first day the basic principles of water loss management were covered; the water balance, water loss performance indicators, the four main components of managing water losses, design of district metered areas (DMAs) (by Ian Maggs), principles of pressure management, apparent losses and metering (by Kevin Head) and strategies for partially metered and small systems. An interactive session was used to look at the drivers for water loss management, and an overview of the NZ Water Loss Guidelines was provided. Charles took a very practical and informative session on active leak detection equipment and methods.
The second day was used to consider detailed aspects and issues associated with the water balance, performance indicators and the uncertainties in the calculations. Issues to consider in the design of DMAs and a recommended process for implementing DMAs were covered, and there was a question and answer session on leak detection methods and results. Two case studies, on using real time data to manage water losses, were provided by Barry Sarjeant (Tauranga City Council) and Nick Urlich (Wellington Water). Ian Maggs took a session on ‘Smart Water Management’ which provided insight into the way in which water loss management is becoming more sophisticated and analytical, and how this is the way of the future. The technology being used is also becoming more affordable.
The writer would like to thank the other presenters for their contribution to the training; their input made the training event a much better experience and meant that additional expertise was available during question times and discussion. The writer would also like to thank the five sponsors who were very positive and provided early support for this inaugural event; this was greatly appreciated. The sponsors were: Deeco Services Limited, Detection Services Ltd, Arthur D Riley & Co. Ltd, Cla-Val Pacific Ltd and Jeff Booth Consulting Ltd.
The positive feedback received indicated the training days were very successful and so a similar event is planned for two years time (February 2017).
Richard Taylor, Thomas Civil & Environmental Consultants Ltd.
For further information contact richard.taylor@tcec.co.nz
