Practical and Theoretical Comparison of Leaks in Drinking Water Systems

In drinking water systems, leaks and failures occur in pipes that provide water transmission due to various factors. One of the main factors in the damage of pipes is pressure fluctuation. In order to eliminate this fluctuation, pressure management is applied with different pressure regulation methods. In addition to reducing leakages, pressure management also has cost elements. In order to meet this cost, the condition of the water distribution system should be analyzed before pressure management, which pressure regulation method will be preferred should be decided and how much water loss will be prevented as a result of pressure management application should be calculated. In this study, leakages were calculated theoretically with the Fixed and Variable Area Discharges (FAVAD) equation, which establishes a relationship between leakage and pressure in the isolated measurement area where pressure regulation is applied, and compared with the field application. Pressure regulation methods that do not give results close to practice were identified by analysis and a new calculation method was developed for these methods. The results in the field application were compared with the developed method and it was tested that it gives results close to the field. In this study, it was aimed to create an algorithm that would give results closer to the application area for the evaluation of water losses and it was successful. This method is considered to be one of the deciding factors in the calculation of leakage in different pressure methods.