Report No DWI0190

Jul 1980

1.

1.01      A lack of reliable information on the extent of leakage and the need to account for all water put into supply led to the formation of a Working Group in 1973. (Ref 3.03 and 4.05).

1.02      A First Report was published in 1976 and an Interim Report in 1977. Thereafter information consisting of subjective views based on widely distributed questionnaires and, more particularly, hard facts derived from a large programme of field experiments, has enabled the Group to produce this Final Report. (Ref 3.04, 3.05 and Chapter 5).

1.03     The experimental programme provided, for the first time on a country-wide scale, sufficient factual information upon which to base an ordered and logical procedure for the determination of a leakage control policy. (Ref 6.05). This practical procedure is recommended for use when it is proposed to:

1. determine a leakage control policy where none exists; (b) review an existing policy;
2. determine the operational resources appropriate to those policies.

1.04      No single leakage control method is economic or practical for all situations and so it is recommended that the most appropriate methods are determined by following the standard procedure outlined in Chapter 6.

1.05      For each system, the procedure enables an economic comparison to be made of the several methods of leakage control that are available. Clearly the immediate financing and resource requirements necessary to advance the long term benefits have to be carefully considered in some circumstances. (Ref 6.037).

1.06      Prior to the implementation of an active leakage control method it may be necessary, in some areas, for expenditure to be incurred on work necessary to remedy the inheritance of systems that have not been recorded on plans nor possess adequate numbers of operable valves to enable preparatory investigations to be undertaken. (Ref 6.12).

1.07      Part 1 of this report outlines the background, states the Group's terms of reference and membership, gives a brief summary of the investigations that have been carried out and recommends a procedure for determining an appropriate leakage control policy.

1.08      Part 2 is a manual for determining a leakage control policy; it discusses the field investigations in more detail, the conclusions derived therefrom and details the procedure outlined in Part 1. It describes the economic calculations necessary and gives advice on the implementation and review of procedures in changing circumstances.

1.09      Part 3 is a manual of leakage control practice; it rehearses and updates current technology, practices and techniques.

Copies of this report may be available as an Acrobat pdf download under the 'Find Completed Research' heading on the DWI website.