Pressure Management for Leakage Reduction in Water Distribution Systems

As a response for water losses in urban water supply networks, the pressure management has become now, one of the most effective method in order to reduce the leakage part of non-revenue water (NRW). The implementation of pressure management has as main objectives besides reducing leakage, reducing bursts frequency and extending the life of the infrastructure. Therefore, in order to improve the water distribution systems, this paper presents the advantages of pressure control and optimization for water distribution using pressure reducing valve (PRV). The main purpose of using PRV is to provide uniform distribution of the pressure and decreasing of the excessive pressure on the water system, reducing the water leakage and energy consumption accordingly. Reducing average and maximum excess pressure by only 10% produces a reduction in leakage, reduction in pipe bursts, deferred renewal and extension of residual asset life, as well as energy savings.