Administrator Richard Downey and Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jordan Jolma both began work with the Town of Grand Chute in 2024. A challenge they both received upon beginning their jobs was to find and significantly reduce or eliminate the large amount of municipal water loss the Town has been experiencing annually.
How large is our Annual Municipal Water Loss?
For the year 2023, Grand Chute lost a reported 228.5 million gallons of municipal system water. This amounts to 26 percent of all water acquired for the year. Grand Chute purchases its municipal water from the City of Appleton. The amount paid for water that was subsequently lost was estimated to be $1,064,984. However, in order to determine the total financial impact of the lost water, lost revenue from the sale of water must also be considered. The sale of those 228.5 million gallons of municipal water would have potentially generated an additional revenue stream of $2,139,880, making the total financial impact of the lost water $3,204,864.
Is it Unusual for Municipalities to Experience Municipal Water Loss?
All municipalities experience some amount of municipal system water loss. Grand Chute makes operational comparisons with 23 communities. Generally, these municipalities have a similar sized population and assessed value as Grand Chute. The average amount of water loss for this comparison group in 2023 was 14.5 percent. Fox Crossing had the lowest percentage of municipal water loss at 3 percent. Ashwaubenon and Grand Chute each experienced 26 percent losses, which were the highest percentages of water loss.
When Did Grand Chute Begin to Experience Unusually High Amounts of Water Loss?
Municipalities were required to begin submitting water, electric, gas and sewer (WEGS) reports, annually, to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) in 1997. That year Grand Chute’s water loss was five percent of acquired water. 2007 was the first year that water loss reached a double-digit percentage, when water loss increased from nine percent in 2006 to 12 percent in 2007. A five percent increase was experienced when annual water loss increased from 11 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2012. The increases continued annually, until reaching a high of 33 percent in 2017. Since 2018, there has been a slow decline in the percentage of system water loss as a result of increased efforts to locate and repair system leaks. The 26 percent water loss experienced in 2023 was the lowest percentage loss since 2016. During the seven-year period of 2016 to 2023, average annual water loss was 30 percent. The total cost of the lost water was $8,820,552, with the average annual cost of lost water being $1,260,079.
What is Causing the System Water Loss and What Actions are Being Taken to Correct the Problem?
The American Water Works Association identifies municipal system water losses as either being ‘real losses,’ which are related to system leaks, or ‘apparent losses,’ which are related to inaccuracies with measuring or billing water usage.
(Coming in May Issue – The Search for Real, Apparent, Water Loss and Efforts to Reduce the Loss)
