M36 Water Audit, Wayland, MA
Tata & Howard, Inc. was retained by the Town of Wayland, MA (Town) to complete a water audit of the water distribution system based on data and system information for the calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015. The project included assessing the amount of lost water using the American Water Works Association M36 water audit methods. The report estimates the volume of lost water in terms of non-revenue water, identifies potential sources of lost water, and estimates system performance indicators including the Infrastructure Leakage Index.
The AWWA water audit results found that the Town’s non-revenue water was approximately 223 million gallons (mg) in 2013, 80 mg in 2014, and 93 mg in 2015. The associated annual costs of water lost were approximately $425,000 in 2013, $320,000 in 2014, and $398,000 in 2015. In addition, 64% of the Town’s meters are over 15 years old. The audit found that many of the losses are a result of customer meter reading and billing procedures. Recommendations to reduce water loss included the following: volumetrically testing master meters at multiple flow rates and performing a field to database audit of SCADA flow reported from master meters; implementation of a customer meter testing and replacement program; upgrade of the customer billing system or replacement with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); and documentation of unbilled and unmetered water use with the use of meters whenever possible.
To assist the Town with addressing the customer billing issues and aging meters, Tata & Howard completed a water meter and AMI evaluation. Next steps include assistance with a request for proposal (RFP) for AMI, and assistance during meter installation.