Effect of demand management and system operation on potable water infrastructure costs

Abstract

The effect of employing demand and pressure management techniques on the cost of water reticulation systems is analysed in this paper. The analysis is based on the cost of supplying a cluster of 4000 households serving a range of hourly demands using pipes of various pressure classes. Demand management reduces costs by 25–45% and pressure management increases savings by a further 20–55%. For demands below 50 l per household per hour there is a cost shift from reticulation infrastructure, to properties, to cover the costs of water storage and fire sprinkler systems. The analysis highlighted the hidden cost within water supply infrastructure to provide fire protection based on street hydrants.