Analysis of Economic Leakage Level and Infrastructure Leakage Index Indicator by Applying Active Leakage Control

Abstract

Active leakage control (ALC) has an important place in the management and prevention of leaks in water or/and gas distribution systems. However, cost–benefit components and the amount of economically recoverable leakage should be analyzed and determined, respectively, for the effective implementation of this method. In this study, an analysis of the cost–benefit components of the ALC method is presented for determining the amount of recoverable leakage and evaluating changes in the infrastructure leakage index (ILI) under the ALC method. An economic analysis of ALC was made for nine regions with different characteristics and benefits. System performance was evaluated according to ILI by calculating cost. The economically recoverable leakage under ALC, representing the maximum amount of water that could be economically saved to the system by the ALC method in the district metered areas (DMAs), were calculated. The ILI parameter, which has quite an important place in the performance of water distribution systems (WDSs), may be insufficient on its own for determining whether application of ALC will be economical in a region. The results showed that application of ALC method would not be economical, especially in regions in which unit water production costs are low and the number of customers per unit length and leakage are low.