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Reducing non revenue water in

Jordan using GIS

Khaldoun Said Qtaishat

Khaldoun Said Qtaishat, "Reducing non revenue water in Jordan using GIS,"
Proc. SPIE 11524, Eighth International Conference on Remote Sensing and
Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2020), 1152410 (26 August 2020);
doi: 10.1117/12.2570784

Event: Eighth International Conference on Remote Sensing and

Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2020), 2020, Paphos, Cyprus

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 Reducing Non Revenue Water in Jordan Using GIS
Khaldoun Said Qtaishat
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mu'tah University, Al-
Karak, Jordan Tel: 00962778880967

ABSTRACT

It is noted that Jordan consumes more water than is available from renewable sources. Renewable water supply currently
only meets about half of total water consumption. Shortages are caused by unsustainable groundwater extraction,
including thousands of illegal private wells. As a result, many communities in Jordan have long experienced tensions
over water scarcity even before the arrival of Syrian refugees. With this rapid influx in population, the gap between
available water and demand, particularly in the north, has widened significantly.

In response, there is available funding to strengthen water management and governance and reduce water losses,
especially by focusing on Non-Revenue Water (NRW). Jordan is estimated to have NRW levels of more than 50% in
many areas. This is quite alarming given that Jordan is considered to be one of the fourth most arid countries in the
world.

The condition of the Jordan water distribution system poses a great number of problems like:
1. Very high percentage of water losses, more than 50%. The NRW represents 220 MCM/year of water
losses, which is equal to more than $500 million.

2. Strong pressure variations within the system lead to frequent new pipe breaks.

3. Large number of illegal connections.

4. Old water network.

It is important to reduce the NRW to improve the efficiency of the water sector and the financial sustainability, and to
conserve Jordan’s limited water resources. Revenues will be increased by the reduction of NRW and will generate more
returns for water utilities as a result of accurate metering, billing, and revenue collection. In addition, the cost for the
operation and maintenance required will be reduced.

Keywords: Non-Revenue, water, GIS, Jordan

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study Objective

The aim of this research is to find new methods to reduce non revenue water in Jordan. Jordan government is investing a
lot of money and efforts to do the following in this field:
1- Detect and repair water leaks.
2- Restructure water networks to effectively control pressure.
3- Replace outdate water meters with smart systems.
4- Update data collection systems to prevent water loss and non-revenue water.
5- Using the above approaches integrated with the GIS technology.
6- Use GIS technology to identify:
a- Pressure management.
b- Subscribers meters management.
c- Methods to manage operation and maintenance system.

Eighth International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2020), edited by
K. Themistocleous, G. Papadavid, S. Michaelides, V. Ambrosia, D. G. Hadjimitsis Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11524,
1152410 · © 2020 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/20/$21 · doi: 10.1117/12.2570784

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11524 1152410-1

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 d- High failure pipes based on historical repair data and failures density analysis.

This huge effort seeks to coordinate resources at all Jordan and local levels to drive innovation solutions for improving
water infrastructure in coordination with the goals of water Authorities in Jordan.

1.2 Literature Review

Setting up a water balance at regular intervals provides the basis for assessing water losses. In the past, a wide variety of
formats and definitions were used for such calculations. The International Water Association (IWA) formed a task force
on performance indicators and water losses in order to achieve internationally comparable figures. An international best
practice approach to calculating water balances was published in 2000 (Al-Ansari, & Alibrahiem., 2013). A steadily
increasing number of countries and water utilities around the world has since recognized and adopted this water balance.
Water utilities are advised to follow the IWA terminology, particularly with regard to national and international
benchmarking (Al-Edie, & Qtaishat, 2015).

Charalambous (2002) gave the assessment of water loss and pipe failures in water distribution system using GIS
technology. The study has shown that, the major causes of pipe failure are corrosion, erosion of the pipe bedding
support, excessive loads, and temperature stresses. GIS technology was used to analyze a section of a water distribution
system. Multiple risk factors such as historical repair data, type of soil, and temperature were integrated to identify areas
susceptible to fail within the test section. As a result of the GIS modeling, it was determined that previous failures
increase the likelihood of future failures in its immediate vicinity; temperature is not a significant factor in pipe failures;
corrosion appears to be the most detrimental factor in the pipe failures (Al-Edie, & Qtaishat, 2015).

2. METHODOLOGY

This study consists of the following steps:

2.1 Data-Driven Non-Revenue Water Mitigation

2.1.1 Leaking Drops And Data

Non-revenue water (NRW) represents a significant drain on overall water availability, but also impacts the financial
security of the utility and the ability to plan effectively for future demand. As such, eliminating NRW is a critical aspect
of utility management.

The typical first response to mitigating NRW is to deploy teams of distribution system technicians to track down, find
and repair the leaks. While we can easily comprehend the physical nature of water leaking from a pipeline, physical
water leaks are only one of many of potential causes of NRW and focusing on physical leaks and losses often misses a
larger culprit: leaking data. In many cases, the fundamental business tools used to ensure the utility’s financial health are
decoupled from the physical infrastructure. The result is that many utilities are not only leaking physical water but are
also leaking the data associated with the production, treatment, distribution and selling of that water. And that means
utilities are leaking dollars.

Focusing on physical leaks first can often result in misplaced priorities and cost inefficiencies. To minimize water loss,
utilities need to know where the water is, was and where it is going – in the physical and data worlds. Studies have
shown that as much as two-thirds of non-revenue water is not physical leaks, but errors in the data. It is imperative to get
the data right first before committing to more expensive leak rectification methods. In many cases, the found revenue
aspects of fixing the data first can serve to fund the physical leak remediation.

The approach for this project is to fix Data Management, Review, Analysis & Validation, and then focus on physical
leaks. This approach will generally follow the AWWA guidelines for NRW control as detailed in the table below:

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 Table 1. AWWA Water Loss Segmentation

In parallel, advances in Data-driven Operations Support to provide strategies to minimize the impact of physical leaks
will be implemented.

2.1.2 Data Management, Review, Analysis & Validation

The basis of a non-revenue water mitigation strategy is identifying and segmenting water. To be effective, water
authority needs to be able to gather data from GIS systems, SCADA systems, asset management systems, financial
systems, billing systems and meter data management systems. The goal will be to eliminate or minimize errors within
the utility’s data systems.

The goal of this effort is to identify:

• Water theft from bypassed meters
• Unauthorized connections
• Metering degradation and inaccuracy due to meter age or physical damage
• Metering degradation due to water quality or particulate precipitation
• Meter programming inaccuracy (eg meter programmed to read in thousand gallons, but entered into the
billing record as reading in gallons)
• Meter losses (eg meters missing from the billing inventory)
• Meter installation errors
• Improperly sized or specified meters
• Data transcription errors (meters not correctly mapped to customer information)
• Incorrect billing codes in the billing platform
• Human errors (eg meter reading mistakes or estimates)

This will be accomplished by evaluating the following:

a. Meter Read Data Collection

The majority of water utilities employ manual or AMR (Automated Meter Reading) to get the meter read from the meter.
Certainly, manual meter reading (by utility staff or customers) is fraught with the potential for errors either at the point of
read, and/or at the point of transcription into the utility’s data systems. AMR systems can eliminate the transcription
errors but lack the immediacy/granularity of data required to identify potential measurement errors. Trying to tease out
the instantaneous condition of meter reads and data with monthly or bi-monthly reads is not possible. If we are to fully

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 understand our meter data condition, it is imperative that utilities move to high frequency Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) platforms.

b. Meter Age and Accuracy

In many utilities, meter accuracy is approximated on artificially developed rules of thumb (e.g. time-based or cumulative
flow assessments). As a first order of approximation these recommendations can provide some basis for action, but the
reality is that the data correlating the parameters of age and volumetric throughput versus accuracy contains significant
scatter. The correlation is more akin to of a “cloud of probability” than an actionable trend. Basing an assessment of
meter accuracy on a linear trend through this data is unlikely to generate meaningful results as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. Meter Accuracy Versus Cumulative flow Tests – Ten Year Service

The use of “rules of thumb” for meter accuracy can result in erroneous results as shown in figure 2. Typically, the
AWWA methodology requires that a utility assign an overall customer metering accuracy value to their metered
population. However, choosing an incorrect number can dramatically shift how the utility may interpret the results.

Effect of Meter Accuracy on Water Loss Segmentation

160

140

120

100
Mgal/year

80

60

40

20

0
5% 4% 3% 2% 1%
Meter Accuracy

Apparent Losses Real Losses

Figure 2. Effect of Meter Accuracy on Water Loss Segmentation

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 To circumvent this problem, it is important to develop a program to assess the meter accuracy at the meter level. As the
data environment becomes richer, it is possible for meter diagnostics to be performed without actually visiting the meter
as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. example variance in read data for a commercial meter

c. Meter Installation Configuration

The proper installation of a meter device is critical to achieving accurate reads. Elbows, bends, valves and other
appurtenances when in close proximity to the meter can negatively affect accuracy. In addition, in cases where the pipe
or flow cavity of the meter may not be full, the accuracy of the results will be suspect. The fact is that most utilities have
poorly documented installation records for meters, and there is ample opportunity for errors to be introduced by
customer changes at the meter location.

d. Water Measurement Accuracy: Size

In sizing a meter, it is important to match the use with size, type and the instantaneous flow regime expected. In
applications where there are large fluctuations of flow (e.g. several minutes at one hundred gallons per minute, followed
by extended periods at less than the minimum flow specified for the meter) the inaccuracies can add up to large volumes
of water. The result: significant under-billing and shortfalls in revenue.. Meter size, however, is not simply a function of
flow. Pressure drop, fire flow requirements, the number of fixture units etc are all used to size the water service, as
shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Meter Sizing Criteria

METER SIZING CRITERIA

CRITERIA
FIXTURE UNITS
FIRE FLOW REQUIREMENT
PRESSURE DROP
INCOMING SERVICE LATERAL SIZE
PROCESS FLOW REQUIREMENTS
(MIN, MAX)
ACTUAL FLOW (MIN, MAX)
METER SPECIFIC INFORMATION
(TYPE, SIZE, MIN, MAX, ETC)
DATA SOURCE
BUILDING/PLUMBING DEPT
RECORDS
BUILDING/PLUMBING DEPT
RECORDS
ENGINEERING PLANS
ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
CUSTOMER, UTILITY SLA CONTRACT
WITH CUSTOMER
INFERRED FROM AMI
AWWA M22, METER
MANUFACTURER, AMS

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 e. Meter Flow Rate
Meters have specific flow ranges over which a new meter can be expected to be very accurate. At low flow rates, meter
accuracy can decline precipitously. At flows less than 0.125 gallons per minute (for small residential meters) to 1.5
gallons per minute (for larger commercial meters), meter accuracy can be very low. In cases where vast differences
between minimum and maximum flows are expected, then typically a compound meter (one that incorporates a large and
small meter into a single assembly) is installed.

f. Data-driven Operations Support

In addition to validating and verifying the utility water use data systems, a specific program of data-driven operations
support is anticipated to:
 Reduce physical leakage
 Reduce the potential for line bursts
 Identify optimum uses programs for water users
 Identify areas where leakage may be occurring with no surface indications

2.1.3 Team Of Water Technology Solutions

2.1.3.1 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

A key component of “smart water” systems is the availability of near real-time consumption data through AMI systems
(combined with SCADA to provide daily pumped vs billed reports); customer side leakage detection; tamper alerts and
high flow usage notifications.

2.1.3.2 Transmission and Distribution Leak Detection

Having established a system for collecting relevant data on consumption, it is important to have a method to identify area
of leakage in the transmission and distribution pipes that deliver water to customers. One of the most innovative
approaches to this task is a flexible robot technology. The technology was initially developed at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and was selected as a winner of the 2018 Dyson award for product design. The
technology was demonstrated in rural southern Indiana where the robot was sent through six miles of underground pipe
to find previously undetected leaks.

The flexible robot body allows rapid and inexpensive mapping in 3D of pipes of various materials. Additional pilots
have been performed in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

2.1.3.3 Real-Time Pressure Management

While physical damage to pipes is one factor in identifying areas of actual water loss, the flow of water through pipes
and pressure management is also an important factor to monitor real-time pressure. Also it is important to understand the
manner in which intermittent water service impacts leakage and infrastructure integrity in Jordan system.

2.1.3.4 Use of specialized sensors and analytics

In addition to utilizing innovative tools and approaches to detect anomalies within the water distribution system, data
may also be collected from external sources that may impact water loss. For example, the impact of seismic activities
will be examined as Jordan is a low level seismic zone with several yearly activities stressing the piping infrastructure.
Minimizing damage to the water network resulting from trenching contractors will also be examined.

The non-confrontational ways to evaluate water theft through:

a. The use of GPR (Ground penetration Radar).
b. Remote Sensing for geospatial solutions, such as the launch of an drone aircraft which equipped with
sensors to enable accurate GIS mapping.
c. Several remote sensing technologies including thermal, hyperspectral airborne and ground-based sensors.

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 2.1.3.5 Water pipeline rehabilitation

Once the operations of the water system have been improved through the use of better data analysis and reduction of
apparent losses, the real water loss occurring through leaking water pipes can often be rehabilitated more cost-effectively
than through traditional replacement. An innovative system to clean, evaluate, line and protect pipes has been developed
to rehabilitate metal pipes at a lower cost and less disruptive manner. The technology uses a vacuum truck to pull small
stones through a section of pipe and remove build-up from corrosion before conducting an internal evaluation of pipe
wall thickness and applying a polymer barrier coat lining. The system allows rehabilitation of water supply lines without
the expense and disruption of excavating city streets.

2.1.3.6 Other tools and resources

In addition, there may be opportunities to by providing improved water quality through the use of new UV-C LED
technology that disinfects water stored on rooftop containers for use during periods of intermittent supply. Including
such tangible benefits for end users can often be helpful in generating overall public support in communities where more
efficient systems are being deployed.

3. GIS-BASED SPATIAL DATA ANALYSIS

3.1 Introduction

Data manipulation and analysis in this study was conducted to reduce the amount of losses water in Jordan water
distribution system. Water utility staff in charge of reduction water losses or detecting, locating and repairing leaks not
only need adequate leak detection equipment, but also precise information which allows them to carry out their work
efficiently. This information is derived from data which has to be collected, processed and interpreted via information
systems. Data manipulation should be done in three parts (Al-Edie, & Qtaishat, 2015).

3.2 Determine the DMA for study area And Water Distribution System analysis

Understanding the condition of the water distribution system is a key factor in minimizing water losses (Al-Edie, &
Qtaishat, 2015). Although real-time in-service pipeline inspection is the direct ideal method, it is costly and out of reach
for most Jordan water utilities. Jordan city's water distribution zones layer should be classified based on zone field in
attribute layer to determine the district metered area (DMA) of the study area (Al-Edie, & Qtaishat, 2015): . The result
will be a map displaying the district metered area (DMA) as shown in Figure 4. To determine study area water
distribution system spatial query for water distribution system shape file should be established depending on the study
area DMA shape file, and the result will be a map displaying the entire water distribution system by areas as shown in
Figure5.

Figure 4. Distribution zones of network system classification

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 Figure 5. DMA boundary and the study area Pipe network

4. CONCLUSIONS

Jordan cities were estimated to have non-revenue water (NRW) level of more than 60% in 2013. This is quite alarming
given that Jordan is considered to be one of the four most arid countries in the world.

The major cases of losses of water in the water distribution system are illegal uses and leakage. In this study illegal
connections were indicated depending on GIS generated maps and walking routes, they were classified based on the use
or consumption of the connection.

Determining the district metered area (DMA) is the key factor to understanding water distribution system conditions and
to minimize water losses. Managing the pressure of the water network, using DMA will give positive effect in reducing
water losses, by reducing unnecessary or excess pressures.

Using geographic information systems in this study is contributed to achieve most of the field survey, evaluating the
subscribers meters and limiting the illegal uses. The density of the subscribers consumption per 100m*100m was
determined to illustrate the most locations of water consumption.

The water balance is the best practices to assess the amount of lost water. It is aims to track and account for every
component of water that is added to and subtracted from a water supply system within a study period.

5. REFERENCES

Al-Ansari N., Alibrahiem,N., Alsaman, M. , Sven Knutsson,(2013)" Water Supply Network Losses in Jordan" Journal
of Water Resource and Protection, no(6),published research , pp 83-96.

Charalambous B.( 2002) “Leakage Management: A Practical approach” HHBS. Clark, A.,(2012) "increasing efficiency
with permanent leakage monitoring "proceeding of the 7 th IWA Water Loss Reduction Specialist Conference, Mamila,
Philippines. Feb 26-29.

Abeer Al-Edie, Khaldoun Qatishat, (2015) " Reduction of Water Loss in Karak Authority Distribution System Using
GIS Technology " International Journal of Environment and water Vol 4, Issue 4, 2015.

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