Drinking Water Research - July-September 2011

• Desalination Facility Design and
Operation for Maximum Efficiency
(Veerapaneni et al. 2010, order #4038)
• Evaluation of Dynamic Energy
Consumption of Advanced Water and
Wastewater Treatment Technologies
(Chang et al. 2008, order #91231)
• Energy Index Development for
Benchmarking Water and Wastewater
Utilities (Carlson and Walburger 2007,
order #91201)
• Water Consumption Forecasting to
Improve Energy Efficiency of Pumping
Operations (Jentgen et al. 2007, #91189)

The following Foundation research on water loss provides tools to help water utilities optimize operations by improving their drinking water production and delivery efficiency and reducing costs:

• Continuous System Leak Monitoring-From Start to Repair (Hughes 2011, order #3183) evaluates the potential of a daily acoustic monitoring system to locate leaks promptly; identifies differences in pipe, and the subsurface environment between the onset of detectable subsurface flow and the time when the leak actually surfaces; and studies how leaks of varying types can be categorized by acoustic signature and pipe characteristics.

• Criteria for Optimized Distribution Systems (Friedman 2010, order #4109) co-funded in cooperation with the Partnership for Safe Water defines and develops a continuous improvement program based on optimization principles for water distribution system operations and identifies metrics to aid in determining the degree of optimization of a given system and in identifying where optimization efforts can best be focused.

• Evaluating Water Loss and Planning Loss Reduction Strategies (Fanner et al. 2007,

order #91163) evaluates the definition, measurement, and reporting methods for utility water losses, and provides guidance to water utilities on leakage identification, leakage control methods, and water loss management that can be used as a measure of best utility practices. The report recommends use of the IWA/AWWA Water Audit Method as a best practice for North American water utilities.

• Leakage Management Technologies (Fanner et al. 2007, order #91180) assesses the practicality of applying U.K. proactive leakage management techniques to North American utilities, and provides guidance to water utilities on how to practically apply promising leakage management technologies.

Another way to optimize water utility operations is through regionalization or collaboration on a regional scale with other water utilities. Several Foundation reports explore this concept including the following:

• Bay Area Collaborative: Model for Regional Utility Cooperation (Means et al. 2010, order #4157) presents national and international case studies that illustrate regional collaboration, and a framework that was used to support a collaborative effort between four water utilities in the San Franscisco Bay area.

• Estimating Benefits of Regional Solutions for Water and Wastewater Service (Cromwell and Rubin 2008, order #91225), demonstrates a method of quantifying the potential benefits of regional collaboration between utilities.

• Regional Solutions to Water Supply Provision Second Edition (Raucher et al. 2008, order #91146) examines the ways in which regional solutions may provide viable and advantageous approaches to addressing several of the challenges facing the water supply community.