Guidelines for water loss reduction - A focus on pressure management

Customers worldwide expect from their water utility to be supplied with drinking water in sufficient quantity, quality and continuity. In many cases, leakage from water supply systems represents a major obstruction to achieve this aim. But in the light of scarce and further diminishing water resources, extensive water losses are incompatible with the principles of sustainable management.

Thus, in 2009, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Association for International Cooperation) and VAG-Armaturen GmbH (VAG) formed a public-private partnership (PPP) in order to introduce, promote and support Pressure Management (PM) as a state-of-the-art instrument for water loss reduction, particularly in developing countries and emerging economies. The primary objectives of this partnership are the development of guidelines for water loss reduction and the accompanying implementation of pilot projects and training measures in order to share knowledge with interested stakeholders worldwide.

The guidelines are addressed to decision makers and relevant stakeholders on national level, as well as to the management, the planning & design department and the operational level of local water utilities. Aims of the guidelines are to raise awareness and understanding on the different types, reasons and impacts of water losses. Methods and instruments for the assessment of the existing status and for the development of action plans are documented. Furthermore, basic requirements for a sustainable management of existing water supply networks and different strategies for water loss reduction are presented, with a special focus on pressure management.