Relying On Old Pipes Doesn't Hold Water

By ELLEN GEDALIUS The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 24, 2007

TAMPA - The city lost about 4 billion gallons of water last year, mostly to leaky pipes.

That's billion - with a "b."

Considering the average Tampa resident uses about 39,000 gallons of water a year, the amount of water the city loses would be enough to quench the thirst of an additional 100,000 people annually.

That's a lot of lost water - especially as drought conditions persist in the Tampa Bay area and the city plans to pass along to customers the cost of buying additional water from Tampa Bay Water.

"It's a significant thing," said Steve Daignault, the city's administrator for public works and utility services.

It cost the city about $3 million to produce the water it ultimately lost.

The city has known about the problem for years but hasn't spent any money to find the leaks. Mayor Pam Iorio said Wednesday that she plans to ask the city council this summer to approve a water rate increase to help pay for $30 million in bonds to start replacing leaky pipes, some of them a century old.

Tampa's loss rate, about 14 percent of what is produced or purchased, is higher than the industry standard of 6 percent to 10 percent.

"We are slightly above average, which is to be expected because we are an older city," said Brad Baird, the city's water department director. "A pipeline that's 100 years old is going to be more prone to leaking at the joints than a pipeline that's 50 years old."

Utilities keep track of the amount of water they lose each year by comparing the amount produced with the amount billed to customers. The loss rate often is referred to as "nonrevenue water" or "unaccounted for water."

There are several reasons why a utility loses water, foremost among them leaky pipes. Meter malfunctions, theft and accounting discrepancies are among other causes. Another problem is contractors accidentally rupturing pipes.

Tampa produced or purchased about 29 billion gallons of fresh water but lost about 4 billion gallons, or 14 percent, between February 2006 and February 2007.

At the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which issues water-use permits to utilities across West Central Florida, 12 percent is considered within industry standards.

"If they're above that, you have to figure out how to get them below that," district spokesman Michael Molligan said. "Obviously we like them at zero, if possible."

Tampa is not the only utility facing water loss problems.

The Miami Herald reported this month that Miami-Dade County lost 12.4 billion gallons of water to leaks, about 10 percent of what was produced. An additional 8.9 billion gallons was unaccounted for, either stolen or improperly billed, putting the losses at well more than 14 percent.

Aging pipes are the main culprit, said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association.

"All across North America, water utilities are facing these same issues," Hoffbuhr said. "There's no pipe system I'm aware of that doesn't leak."

Hillsborough County's loss rate is 7 percent, about 1.4 billion gallons of the 19.3 billion purchased.

Loss Rate Accelerates

Tampa's loss rate seems to be accelerating, and in 2006 the city hired a consultant to figure out why, paying about $84,000 for an audit. The consultants found that in 2003 the city was losing about 8 percent of its water. Within seven months, the number spiked to about 13 percent.

The consultant called the trend "particularly puzzling" but could not offer an explanation.

In years with normal rainfall, the city draws its drinking water primarily from the Hillsborough River reservoir. In dry times, the city supplements its supply with purchases from Tampa Bay Water.

"Clearly there are strong financial incentives to reduce apparent losses," the consultant wrote.

One recommendation is to replace residential meters more frequently. The city typically replaces meters every 10 years, but the consultants suggested replacing them every seven years.

Meters tend to start losing their accuracy after seven years, generally underregistering water use rather than overregistering.

The consultants also recommended the city embark on a multiyear plan to replace and repair pipes.

Aging Pipes At Risk

Older pipes are more prone to rupturing. About 15 percent of the city's 2,300 miles of pipe is more than 60 years old, Baird said.

On Thanksgiving, a broken section of an 80-year-old pipe spilled about 20 million gallons of water.

Last year, the city spent more than $6 million on repairing leaky or broken pipes. The city has plans to issue about $30 million in bonds to rehabilitate and replace water mains and replace pipes. The bonds have not yet been issued.

"We have got so many water issues facing us at the moment that we need to do a whole evaluation of the whole budget," Daignault said.

Daignault was referring to the city's need to buy more water from Tampa Bay Water because of the drought and pass on the additional cost to consumers. Each day, the city spends about $66,000 getting water from Tampa Bay Water.

The city is developing a plan to replace old pipes and have more employees focus on meter maintenance rather than pipe repair, Daignault said.

Baird said the city needs to determine which pipes fail most often and which would have the most significant effect on consumers if they broke.

"We are looking at our needs to determine the priority of replacement and rehab," Baird said. "Until you do that, you don't have a road map to get it done."

The city this week started doing preventive maintenance on downtown's water distribution system. Among other things, workers are looking for leaks. Traditionally, the city has put its money into repairs rather than leak detection.

Iorio said a bond issue would merely put a dent in the amount of work that needs to be done.

"Even with $30 million in pipe repair," Iorio said, "that is very small in proportion to what needs to be done."

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.