American Water Resources Association
Water Efficiency in the Water Supply Sector
George Kunkel, P.E.
Water Efficiency Program Manager – Philadelphia Water Department
Every five years the United States Geological Survey (USGS) issues a report detailing the uses of water withdrawn from the nation’s water resources. The top water users, by sector, are thermoelectric power, irrigation (largely for agriculture), and public water supply. While the water supply sector is a distant third in the volume of water withdrawals, drinking water is the most costly of the waters since it is treated to potable water quality standards and transported across hundreds of thousands of miles of underground distribution piping.
Water efficiency in the water supply sector is often perceived as the use of water conservation practices, which strive to reduce the water consumption of customer end users. While water conservation is a valuable strategy for many resource-limited water utilities, the supply-side efficiency of water utilities is often overlooked. Unfortunately, water and revenue losses are high for many water utilities; due to deteriorating water infrastructure, poor metering and billing practices and theft of service. This presentation will provide an overview of the emerging methods and technologies now available to water utilities to audit their supplies and control wasteful losses due to leakage and uncaptured revenue.
Mr. Kunkel has worked for the Philadelphia Water Department for 32 years and has chaired the city’s Water Accountability Committee for the past 19 years. He is active in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Water Association (IWA) and has led a number of important policy and research projects on water loss. He is the technical editor of the leading AWWA guidance manual on water loss control and is a co-author of the AWWA Free Water Audit Software©. He has authored many technical papers and given many presentations on water loss control in the water utility sector. Mr. Kunkel was the recipient of the 2010 Achievement Award from the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin and the 2010 Water Star Award from the national Alliance for Water Efficiency.
Engineers: This seminar does qualify for 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDH). A Certificate of Attendance will be available on site for AWRA-PMAS members only. The meeting price for non-members who wish to receive a 2012 Certificate of Attendance for the PDH is $10.00 ($3.00 for meeting + $7.00 for certificate). Please note: all registrations for lunch orders close by noon on the day before the presentation. Thank you!