Every drop counts

Increasing the efficiency of water distribution

Drinking water is a precious but scarce commodity, and is not equally distributed on our planet. With a rising world population, water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 percent by 2025 in developing countries and 18 percent in developed countries, according to the UN’s GEO-4 report. Shortages are further exacerbated by climatic change.

One part of the solution lies in implementing new sources of water, treatment capability and in transporting water over longer distances. Another contribution lies in addressing the significant losses that occur in its transport and distribution. The World Bank estimated that leakages account for 32 billion cubic meters in 2006. Particularly in water distribution, losses of up to 50 percent were found to occur in some regions and countries. Reducing losses is not just about saving water but also about saving energy as every drop lost is also a waste of the energy invested in its treatment and transportation (and thus has a price in terms of CO2 emissions).

ABB has developed an integrated water-management solution to reduce these losses in different ways. It supports maintenance by helping locate leaks, but also reduces the volumes lost by optimizing pump pressures, and saves energy and energy costs by scheduling pump operations.

Read the full article to discover more about the different aspects of water leakage and pressure management.