Water Audits
Understand, Optimize, and Protect Your Water System
Public water systems today face mounting challenges — from aging infrastructure and stricter regulatory requirements to climate-driven demand fluctuations and dwindling resources. These pressures increase the risk of water loss and financial strain for utilities and communities alike. According to the EPA, the average U.S. water system loses around 16% of treated water to non-revenue water, and up to 75% of those losses are recoverable.
What Is a Water Audit?
A water audit is a comprehensive engineering assessment that accomplishes the following:
- Compares the volume of water produced with the volume of water actually delivered and billed, akin to a financial audit.
- Pinpoints where water is being lost or unaccounted for — whether through leaks, metering inaccuracies, billing issues, unauthorized use, or operational inefficiencies.
- Uses the industry-standard methodology from the American Water Works Association’s AWWA M36 methodology to quantify losses and benchmark performance.
By identifying both real losses (physical leaks) and apparent losses (errors in measurement and accounting), a water audit reveals the true cost of inefficiencies in your system and provides a roadmap for improvement.
Why Water Audits Matter — The Benefits Are Real
Reduce Water Loss and Recapture Revenue
Water audits uncover where treated water is being wasted or unbilled, turning invisible loss into measurable opportunity. Utilities often see rapid returns on audit investments — often less than one year — because recovered water can be sold instead of wasted.
Improve Operational Efficiency
Understanding how and where water flows through your system helps you optimize distribution, making better decisions about repairs, upgrades, and operations. Modern tools like Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) further enhance visibility and control.
Protect Public Health and System Reliability
Reducing leaks and unnecessary entry points into the distribution system lowers the risk of contamination and infrastructure failures, strengthening reliability and customer confidence.
Support Long-Term Planning and Funding
Audit results provide data that can be used to justify budget decisions, prioritize infrastructure investments, and pursue external funding or grants, helping utilities plan proactively for future needs.
Our Approach to Water Audits
At Tata & Howard, we take a thorough, data-driven, and results-oriented approach to water system audits. Our process includes the following:
- Detailed analysis of system inputs and outputs
- Performance evaluation using key industry indicators like non-revenue water and Infrastructure Leakage Index
- Identification of loss sources — both real and apparent
- Actionable strategies for reduction, including meter testing, leak detection, AMI evaluation, and procedural improvements
- Prioritized recommendations tailored to your utility’s goals
Whether your system is large or small, new or aging, our experts help you turn audit insights into measurable outcomes, saving both water and money.
Start Gaining the Benefits of a Water Audit
A professional water audit is one of the most cost-effective tools for improving water utility performance, enhancing resource stewardship, and strengthening financial resilience.
Contact us to learn how a water audit can help your community save water and money.
