Water Loss Audit Follow-up – Part 1 Metering
In 2019, the State Legislation enacted the Senate Enrolled Act 4 which requires annual water audits by all community water systems. These audits must be “Validated” by a third-party certified “Validator” every even-numbered year starting in 2020. These water audits will evaluate the Utility’s water loss and establish proactive steps to address these water loss triggers. Per this legislation, your Utility’s 2021 water data must be audited, validated, and submitted to the State by August 1, 2022.
Commonwealth currently has ten (10) team members trained to perform water loss audits and certified validations. We can prepare your utility’s audit and validation or just perform the validation, depending on your needs.
If your audit has already been completed for 2021, or if you’ve had past audits, you may notice that the software provides categories for improvement. These are areas in which your utility can improve your “score,” increase the accuracy of your water data, reduce lost water, and increase revenue water. In addition to the categories provided by the audit software, Commonwealth’s audit team provides recommendations for specific, attainable improvements for its audit clients.
One of the top-suggested improvements is to increase your metering accuracy via routine flow testing. This improvement can provide instant results in the form of more accurate consumption readings (meters tend to err in the direction of under-registering flow provided). Metering accuracy can be increased by replacing aging customers’ meters, implementing a customer meter testing policy, and calibrating and flow testing supply meters. Setting up a meter replacement program is critical for maintaining this accuracy in the future. Commonwealth has assisted communities with meter replacement and upgrade projects both as independent projects and as a part of larger capital improvements projects. We would be happy to discuss options for your specific community!
If you’d like assistance with your audit, validation, or any of the above-mentioned ways to improve your utility’s water loss data, contact Commonwealth Engineers today.
