avk-esg-2024-25 - Flipbook - Page 25
At an early stage, the LEAKman partners
identified the need for knowing if – and when
– the DMA boundary valves are operated
as this affects NRW management and often
leads to false results when conducting the
water balance assessment and the minimum
nighttime flow monitoring.
Water balance calculations are highly
dependent on valid data. It is a well-known
issue that if the boundary valves have been
opened for maintenance, they are sometimes
not brought back to the closed position
afterwards. In other words, monitoring the
open/closed position of boundary valves can
help prevent unmeasured flow between DMAs
and thereby ensure more reliable data and
calculations.
Pressure management techniques to
minimise leaks and reduce energy
consumption
Pressure management is considered an
important and cost-effective leakage
management activity. The higher the pressure,
the more water is lost through bursts and
leakages. Furthermore, most pipe bursts occur
not only due to high pressure, but rather due
to pressure fluctuations that cause pipes to
constantly contract or expand, resulting in
stress fractures.
Pressure adjustment is also a way to reduce
unnecessary energy consumption. By allowing
lower pressure in general, especially during offpeak hours, energy consumption for pumping
can be reduced. The pressure can be adjusted
to the critical point at a strategic consumer
in the DMA, which means that no energy will
be used to pump water to a higher level than
necessary.
Manually monitored Pressure Reducing Valves
(PRVs) require the utility to go to the valve
location and manually check the pressure
gauge. This is time-consuming and in principle,
PRVs can fail within minutes of being manually
inspected, meaning the pressure is not reduced
correctly. Using wireless, battery-powered
pressure sensors, PRVs can be monitored
every minute or every five minutes, achieving a
constant online monitoring.
The LEAKman project
The LEAKman project (LEAKage MANagement) intents to demonstrate
Danish solutions to reduce the loss of clean drinking water and to pave
the way for new Danish water technology.
Read more in the chapter on “Our partnerships for sustainable
development” or at https://leakagemanagement.net/.
AVK Group Sustainability report 2024/2025 | 25
