Effect of Pressure Reduction at Different Zones on Non-Revenue Water in Kinta District

Water loss from water distribution network has become a common problem around
the world. Non revenue water, also known as NRW, is the difference between the
volume of water supplied into a distribution system and the volume of water billed to
customers. There are many factors contributing to NRW such as pipe bursts,
leakages, meter accuracy and illegal connection. The objective of this study is to
implement pressure control scheme into Bercham sub network in order to reduce the
water loss to an economical level. The scope of study covered five residential areas
located in Bercham, Ipoh. Burst and Background Estimates Analysis (BABE)
method was used for data interpretation to calculate component of real losses. Fixed
and Variable Area Discharges (FAVAD) was used to determine the value of NI.
Result of the study on the pipe system and meters for Taman Anda indicated that, the
percentage of leakage is 26.3%. Based on the result from BABE analysis, there was
no need to install Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) in the system whereas the pipe
needs to be changed because of its overdue lifespan. At Taman Ria, the percentage
of leakage is relatively small at 7.27%. There was a problem during the test at
Taman Sri Kurau where the valve at the inlet point was broken, thus the result
obtained was inaccurate. The critical zones are Taman Arena Kepayang and Taman
Sri Rapat based on BABE analysis. This is due to high ground level that causes
difficulty for data logger to interpret the signal. The percentage of leakage for Taman
Arena Kepayang is 19.51 % while for Taman Sri Rapat is 23.50%. Therefore, there is
a need to installed PRV for both areas.