Management of Non-revenue and Revenue Water Data Edgar Johnson                                        $100 + GST = $110            2007 0858258226 178 pages                        FEATURES Quality-system-based in-situ calibration techniques for large water meters New methodology with a focus on both technical accuracy and organizational efficiency encouraging continual improvement Promotes sustainable water management practice. Improves financial accountability. Optimises decision-making. Enables better compliance with regulatory requirements.

DESCRIPTION
It is now accepted that the effects of climate change, global warming and declining rain fall, coupled with a growing population, will lead inevitably to water shortages. Therefore sustainable management of water is a key issue confronting society both in Australia and overseas. While there is a considerable body of knowledge on rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, desalination and even smart metering, little has been said or written about the management of the data on which water organisations base their decisions.

Effective management relies on effective measurement, coupled with reliable and accurate information transfer. There is a need for guidelines for management of non-revenue and revenue water data that will facilitate a process of continuous intervention and feedback in order to enhance the efficiency of water management and billing operations. Quality of data assists organisations realise an economic threshold for apparent water losses. Apparent losses being the component of non-revenue water that generally account for most of the losses in revenue and inefficiencies in water management.

The aim of Management of Non-revenue and Revenue Water Data is to develop a comprehensive approach to data management applicable to both urban and rural water organisations. It provides valuable insight into implementing new and application of existing techniques, methods, procedures or models that consistently limit apparent water losses.

The text is consistent with the stages in the water data cycle: capture, collection, transmittal, processing, manipulation, representation and application. Case studies (histories) and examples are provided, which describe practical illustrations of some of the theoretical concepts mentioned. The introductory chapter outlines the rationale for adopting the data acquisition cycle for the management of non-revenue and revenue water data as well as the target audience the material is aimed at and case studies are included.

Chapter 2 deals with the data and information needs of a water authority with respect to its water demand data information systems. The purpose and relevance of different types of water demand data required by a water authority are identified along with the theory describing a generic optimal level of data.

Chapter 3 – Data Capture, presents the initial step of the cycle relating to data capture and provides guidance as to the management of measurement errors. The chapter highlights the selection and optimal locations of applicable data capture devices and methods along with offsite and innovative in-situ calibration processes.

Chapter 4 – Data Collection and Transmittal, outlines various data collection methods from manual through to remote monitoring (telemetry) systems and identifies the application of each method. The data collection and transmittal capabilities of telemetry systems as well as the criteria of these systems are identified. Some errors that can be introduced into the signal path that the data is required to pass through are also described.

Chapter 5 – Data Processing, deals with various validation and comparison processes required to identify errors and to establish to what extent these errors influence the data. Validation processes include statistical techniques, water audits/balances as well as processing methodologies, which combine various basic statistical processes that are designed to facilitate identification, quantification and reduction of errors.

Chapter 6 – Data Manipulation and Representation, provides the justification for and some methods that allow for the regular interchange of explicit and tacit knowledge. This interchange of knowledge is required so that current and future functioning of water supply and distribution systems can be modelled within defined error limits. The degree of utilisation introduces both a technical and economic connotation for the analysis of peak (load) factors in water systems while the expression of these peak factors in a probabilistic form facilitates their definition in terms of return periods.

Chapter 7 – Data Application, presents ways in which data can be applied in the various planning, design, forecasting, operations and management functions of a water authority. Facets of optimisation theory and asset (infrastructure) management relevant to the cycle are addressed. Useful financial analysis processes are also briefly introduced.

Chapter 8 – Response and Feedback, illustrates how the water authority's system responds to the various design, operational and control policies in the context of the path tracing the accuracies of the data from its capture through to its application. Derived data such as benchmarks and reference standards help measure specific applied level of data. A methodology to establish the optimal Level of Data is described.

A comprehensive Manual for a generic management requirements of a 'data laboratory' as well as the technical requirements of an In situ calibration laboratory within a water authority are described in appendices to the main text. The appendices are prepared in general accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and specifically in terms of ISO 17025.
                       
AUTHOR BIO
EDGAR H JOHNSON
Edgar Johnson is the manager of the Water Group for GHD Pty Ltd in Adelaide. He has more than 27 years Australian and international experience in water management and water/wastewater engineering. This professional experience has been with city councils, water authorities and consultants that include involvement in every facet of the life cycle of water and wastewater assets in a regional and urban context.
Edgar is a Chartered Professional Engineer with tertiary qualifications in civil engineering, water engineering and commerce. He has presented and published papers/research books that include the development of innovative projects relating to integrated water resource management (IWRM), leakage management, water demand management, water demand forecasting, water conservation, management of non-revenues water (NRW), metering and metering systems.