Water Loss Reduction
Fast Facts
- The Alliance is a partnership between the Queensland government, CSIRO, The University of Queensland and Griffith University, Brisbane
- This project is a research partnership between the CSIRO, Griffith University, the QLD Water Commission and the Department of Natural Resources and Water, QLD, in collaboration with the Sydney Catchment Authority and Melbourne Water.
- In South East Queensland, loss of water from our dams, rivers and other water storages through natural evaporation are estimated at around 300GL per year, while losses through degraded or damage to infrastructure could be as high as 40GL per year.
- Application of advanced leakage detection systems in the reticulation network and manipulation of processes controlling evaporation at storage facilities could offer the SEQ region potential savings in excess of 50GL/year.
Reducing losses from SEQ water storage and reticulation systems: Analysis of evaporation mitigation options and development of pressure transient ‘finger printing’ for leak detection
Background
Traditionally, water conservation has mostly targeted demand management, with consumers being educated to make smarter use of our water resource.
The water industry stands to make further significant savings by applying new ideas to the areas of evaporation prevention and in rapid detection of system leaks to allow their repair.
In South East Queensland, loss of water from our dams, rivers and other water storages through natural evaporation are estimated at around 300GL per year, while losses through degraded or damage to infrastructure could be as high as 40GL per year.
Developing innovative methods to reduce these losses offers the potential to reduce pressures on the regions water supply.
Faster fixes
The management of ageing infrastructure presents a significant problem to the Australian water industry with unplanned water and wastewater pipeline failures incurring significant economic, social and environmental consequences.
Australian water authorities have expressed a clear need for cost-effective, non-invasive and non-destructive techniques for early leakage detection and condition assessment in pipe networks, and this project will seek to deliver a semi-automated system that will allow leaks to be easily detected across the network for targeted maintenance.
Dam losses
The volume of water lost through evaporation from our storage systems each year is roughly equal to that supplied through the distribution system, meaning that two units of water need to be collected and stored for each unit of water supplied to the consumer.
We aim to develop new and innovative techniques for reducing evaporation, from the management of near surface heat stores, shallow water partitioning, to partial covering and manipulation of turbulence fields around storages, with each technique being fully assess with relation to their effects on aquaculture, recreation, water treatment etc. Initial analysis of such techniques suggests that a 10% reduction in evaporation may be possible at a cost much less than alternative methods to boost water supplies (i.e. desalination, recycling).
Application of advanced leakage detection systems in the reticulation network and manipulation of processes controlling evaporation at storage facilities could offer the SEQ region potential savings in excess of 50GL/year.
This project will benefit all Australians, as innovations developed will be instituted throughout the water industry through our partnership with the Water Services Association of Australia.
The partners
This project is a research partnership between the CSIRO, Griffith University, the QLD Water Commission and the Department of Natural Resources and Water, QLD, in collaboration with the Sydney Catchment Authority and Melbourne Water.
Our team will be working alongside colleagues from South East Water, Brisbane Water, Gold Coast Water and Ipswich Water, and collaborating with partners in the Water Services Association of Australia, the University of QLD, and the CRC for Polymers.
Contact: Prof Stewart Burn
CSIRO Land and Water
PO Box 56
Highett VIC 3190
Ph: +61-3-9252 6032
Fax: +61-3-9252 6244
Email: Stewart Burn
Read about more of our research.