Controlling Non-Revenue Water

Course Length: 2 Hours

Course participants will learn that auditing can reveal water and revenue losses which occur in every water utility to some degree.  A portion of the treated water supply typically leaks from primary supply infrastructure and never reaches customers. Inaccurate customer water meters and billing errors result in uncaptured revenue. These occurrences and data lapses are part of non-revenue water, and affect utility operations and finances, as well as compromising the delivery of reliable service to customers.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the meaning of the term non-revenue water and realize the problems it creates
• Appreciate that losses can be non-physical such as metering and billing error, and physical losses of leakage
• Know how to assign costs to the losses that occur in your utility
• Analyze your water audit data yearly by using the AWWA Compiler Software Tool

EL312 — Accurate Metering of Water Production Flows

Course Length: 1 Hour / 0.1 CEU*

This eLearning course gives students the information that they need to effectively manage production flowmeters to produce accurate production data for their operations and for the annual water audit.

Course participants will learn that accurate metering of production flows is highly important, in terms of managing water supplies, but also in providing accurate data to the annual water audit. Production flows are the largest annual volumes of water measured in the water utility, and they are measured by the largest flowmeters in the water system. It is critical that water utilities manage these assets reliably to produce accurate data, and this course provides detailed guidance on this activity.

Module 1: The Importance of Accurate Production Flow Data
Module 2: Effective Management of Water Production Flowmeters
Module 3: Managing Production Flow Data Accurately

EL312 Learning Objectives:

• Identify those water flows that are classified as production flows
• Recognize the critical importance of accurate production flow data to water accountability
• Distinguish the primary types of production flowmeters used in drinking water supplies
• Recall the basic ways to test production flowmeter performance and calculate the accuracy rating from typical testing data
• Recognize that production flowmeters are important assets that must be maintained, repaired, and replaced on a regular basis as part of good asset management
• Tabulate and Analyze production flowmeter data to observe flow trends and identify data errors and data gaps

Course Length: 2 Hours

This eLearning course gives students the information on the leakage and pressure management that they need to control their distribution system leakage in a cost-effective manner.

Module 1: How Leakage Occurs and What it Costs Your Utility
Module 2: Proactive Leakage Management
Module 3: Pressure Management Benefits and Applications
Module 4: Keeping Leakage Control Efforts Going

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain how leakage occurs in water distribution systems and the problems leakage causes
• Describe how leakage imparts direct and indirect costs on water utility operations
• Define proactive leakage management and its key activities Identify the ways to detect leaks and pinpoint them
• Assess your system’s pressure levels and potential for improved pressure management
• Determine the best actions to cost-effectively monitor and control leakage in your system

EL314 — Customer Metering and Billing Operations for Optimized Revenue Capture

Course Length: 2 Hours

Course participants will learn about the necessity of accurate customer metering, meter reading, and billing operations to ensure a reliable revenue stream. Utility policy on meter and billing can result in Apparent Losses just as inaccurate water meters and billing system errors can. It is important for water utilities to stay current with metering and meter reading technology and employ rational policies to optimize their revenue capture.

Module 1: Tracking Customer Water Consumption
Module 2: Managing Customer Water Meters and Meter Reading
Module 3: Efficient Billing Operators to Maintain the Revenue Stream

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain the value of water and the water utility’s need for revenue
• Describe how utility policies can affect financial stability
• Explain how utilities meter customer water consumption and bill for this service
• List common water meters in use and types of meter reading systems
• Detail good meter management practices — accuracy testing and meter replacement
• Identify potential for billing errors and unauthorized consumption that siphon away revenue
• Tabulate consumption and billing data reliably to track revenue capture and flag errors
• Determine ways to improve metering & billing operations in your system

Sustaining the Non-Revenue Water Management Program | EL315

Course Length: 1 Hour

Course participants will learn the ways to keep their Non-revenue Water management program going once it is launched.  This final course in the series brings together concepts from the first four courses and provides program management guidance including compiling the water audit every year and using its results to assist the planning, budgeting, implementation, and sustainability of the program. Creating a vision for the next five, ten, or more years is important to keep the program going and keeping non-revenue water controlled.

Module 1: Controlling Losses Never Ends: Planning, Budgeting, and Implementing the Program
Module 2: Sustaining the Program: Staying Proactive for the Long-term Future

EL315 Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate how Non-revenue Water will rise unless action is taken to contain it.
• Recall that the water audit allows you to track your loss volumes and costs each year.
• Assess Non-revenue Water levels and system conditions each year to set priorities.
• Identify technologies and methods that are effective in addressing losses in your system.
• Envision the water system 5-10 years from now, and how you would like to see the system operate then.
• Execute planned loss control activities, monitor progress in Non-revenue water control, and adjust actions as needed if losses are still excessive.

All five courses bundled above are offered at a 20% discount.