A R I S T O T L EUNIVERSITY OFTHESSALONIKI

A R I S T O T L EUNIVERSITY OFTHESSALONIKI

Aristotle University of ThessalonikiGreece - www.chem.auth.gr

Conseil Général des Pyrénées OrientalesFrance - www.pyrenees-orientales.fr

Water Board of NicosiaCyprus - www.wbn.org.cy

Regional Development CentreSlovenia - www.rcr-zasavje.si

Metropolitan Area of BarcelonaSpain - www.amb.cat

Kozani Municipal Water & Sewerage UtilityGreece - www.deyakozanis.gr

Liri-Garigliano & Volturno Rivers Basin AuthorityItaly - www.autoritadibacino.it

University of LjubljanaSlovenia - www.uni-lj.si/en

General Council of HeraultFrance - www.herault.fr

Project DescriptionWATERLOSS project, following the Water Framework Directive WFD2000/60/EC aimed at the development of an integrated and sustainable policy towards water management and at the implementation of measures ensuring high quality for Europe’s water resources. Specifically, the project aimed at the water resources saving through management and reduction of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in water distribution networks. NRW is the water volume entering the system (water distribution network) but not bringing revenues to the water utility. NRW includes water losses due to leaks and breaks, water theft, water supplied free of charge, meters errors (under-registration) and metering errors (reading and accounting errors).

Six European countries situated in the EU Mediterranean basin participated in the WATERLOSS project as partners (Greece, France, Cyrpus, Slovenia, Spain and Italy).

Pilot CasesWATERLOSS main target was the integrated confrontation of NRW in water distribution networks. Towards the achievement of this goal, ten pilot cases were selected from the partner countries to gather all the necessary data for the project implementation and its results monitoring.

The pilot cases were:• The city of Kozani (Kozani Municipal Water and

Sewerage Utility, Greece) • The cities Baho, Argelès-sur mer and Thuir, (Conseil

Général des Pyrénées Orientales, France) • Intercommunal Water Syndicate of Lodeve area

(SIEL) (Department of Herault , France) • DMA20 and a part of DMA15 (Water Board of Nicosia,

Cyprus) • The city Velenje (Regional Development Center,

Slovenia) • The city Castellbisbal (Metropolitan Area of Barcelona,

Spain) • The city Melito di Napoli (Autorità di Bacino dei Fiumi

Liri-Garigliano-Volturno, Italy).

European Territorial Cooperation MED Operational Programme

Total Project Budget: 1,846,788 €ERDF Contribution: 1,436,841 €

Project Duration: 01.06.2010 - 31.05.2013

For more information on WATERLOSS project please contact: Professor Anastasios I. ZouboulisAristotle University of Thessaloniki

Department of Chemistry, Chemical & Environmental Technology

P.O. Box 116, GR 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceTel: +302310997794

E-mail: zoubouli@chem.auth.gr or visit the project’s site: www.waterloss-project.eu

Project Partners

Liri-Garigliano & Volturno Rivers Basin Authority

www.waterloss-project.eu

WATERLOSS:MANAGEMENT OF WATER LOSSES

IN A DRINKING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMFINAL RESULTS

Implementation phasesThe project consisted in three phases:• Monitoring the performance of Water Supply Systems and

evaluation of water losses. This included an assessment of the performance of water supply systems in partners’ areas through effective performance indicators, assisted by water analyses and preparation of water balances for each area.

• Development of a DSS tool and establishment of appropriate water loss reduction strategy. This included the preparation of a database of available water management measures, together with suggestions on their implementation.

• Demonstration of the DSS tool and of the corresponding water loss reduction measures in the partners’ areas, and critical evaluation of the results.

Project ResultsThe project’s results in brief were:

1. NRW assessment in pilot areas using the 2nd modified IWA Water Balance;

2. NRW components estimation;

3. Development of a Performance Indicators (PIs) database, including 75 already existing IWA PIs and development of 42 new PIs (11 derived from existing ones & 31 new proposed ones) adapted to regional conditions of the EU Mediterranean basin counties and the new challenges;

4. Development of a NRW reduction measures database (including existing and new ones), facing each and every NRW component;

5. Development of a Decision Support System (DSS) which is based in a decision tree, aiming at the suggestion of the most suitable NRW reduction measures;

6. A prioritized list of NRW measures, based on six evaluation criteria;

7. Implementation of the DSS in pilot cases. The DSS suggests NRW reduction measures taking into consideration the water distribution network characteristics and the input variables values. The DSS tool has been designed to help the user to decide which measures are suitable for implementation in his pilot area, to reduce water losses and NRW.

The Decision Support SystemThe Decision Support System (DSS) includes the following features:

1. A reporting system, where the user can enter the necessary data for his water distribution system. The data include values for 54 variables and a list with the results achieved from past implementation of NRW reduction measures;

2. Reporting status;

3. A list with the PIs, existing ones and the ones that have been developed in WATERLOSS project (PI’s name, formula, units);

4. Search for dependent variables to calculate the selected PIs;

5. Benchmarking of the water distribution system with other systems using the DSS;

6. A NRW reduction measures list with photos and other relevant material;

7. DSS main use.

The user can provide the necessary variables values and the thresholds values (either from the thresholds list or defining his own threshold values). The DSS can then guide the user through a path, trying to identify the primary reason causing NRW components. The final outcome is a list of NRW reduction measures that can be prioritized using six criteria: importance, implementation timeframe, duration effect, organizational complexity, constructive measure and cost efficiency.

The DSS has been designed to operate in three languages: English, Greek and Slovene.

Project Team Members:

Anastasios Zouboulis (project coordinator)Professor of Chemical and Environmental Technology, Aristotle University of ThessalonikiPetros SamarasAssociate Professor, TEI of ThessalonikiVasileios KanakoudisAssistant Professor, University of ThessalyStavroula TsitsifliDr Chemical Engineer, ResearcherIfigenia ArgyriadouCivil Engineer, ResearcherOlympia PapadopoulouEnviromentalistDespoina ZiogaSocial Scientist - Economist