Analysis of Cost and Benefit of Leakage Management in Isolated Metering Areas: Field Practices for Pilot Areas

Abstract

Operating cost in urban water management is the most important component that should be reduced for administrations. This study, it is aimed to analyze the cost of the methods applied in the management of non-surface leaks in distribution systems according to field data and to calculate the benefit resulting from the application of these methods. For this purpose, the Malatya water distribution system was chosen as the application area. In the application area, the costs of the inspections (crew, working hours and equipment) made by acoustic methods in the pilot isolated areas and the benefits of the detected leaks were analyzed in detail. Thus, the economic efficiency of the applied method and process is determined and monitored. It is understood that the studies will be inefficient if the costs of detecting faults that do not come to the surface are higher than the benefits to be obtained, especially in regions where the loss rate is low. In such areas, it is necessary to monitor flow and pressure changes, maintain the current situation and implement site inspections depending on the increase in leakage rate. It is thought that the outputs obtained from this study will contribute to technical personnel and decision-makers.