Georgia EPD water-loss program
Original annual compilations, current Georgia guidance, certification forms and the qualified-auditor registry. Start here to trace audit data and regulatory guidance.
All readers
Open official resourceWATER LOSS IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
Learn about water loss
Start with the water balance. Then learn how pipes, meters, records and costs affect the numbers.
Understanding the audits
Where the water goes
This project examines nine Northwest Georgia utilities using Georgia EPD audit records available across 2016–2025. An audit is a starting point for public oversight. It can show a persistent problem, a change worth investigating, or a weakness in the records. By itself, it cannot tell us which pipe leaked or why a particular annual result changed.
Begin with the water balance
Start with the water entering the audited system. Subtract authorized consumption. What remains is total water loss. The audit then separates estimated apparent losses from calculated real losses. Non-revenue water adds authorized unbilled use to both kinds of loss.
Water supplied = authorized consumption + apparent losses + real losses.
Non-revenue water = authorized unbilled consumption + apparent losses + real losses.
A leaking main is a real loss. A customer meter that misses some of the water passing through it creates an apparent loss. Approved hydrant flushing is authorized consumption; if it is unbilled, it is also non-revenue water. Those distinctions matter when choosing a response.
Why an audit can change without a pipe repair
Imagine a customer meter records 90 gallons when 100 gallons pass through it. Replacing it with a meter that records 100 gallons raises recorded consumption by 10 gallons even if the customer uses exactly the same amount. Better recording can recover revenue and reduce apparent loss. It does not, by itself, save 10 gallons of physical water.
Real losses are the remainder after other categories have been accounted for. If a utility corrects its supply meter, changes its apparent-loss estimate, fixes billing-period alignment, or documents more authorized use, that remainder changes. A lower reported real-loss number therefore needs supporting operational evidence before it is described as a reduction in leakage.
Pressure matters, but an annual average cannot establish cause
Pressure can influence leakage from an existing opening. A yearly average does not identify where pressure changed, how long a leak lasted, which repairs occurred, or whether the estimate changed. Pressure also affects UARL, so ILI can move when its denominator changes. Compare pressure logs, operating changes, and repair records before concluding that pressure caused an annual change.
Four kinds of evidence
| Category | Example | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Reported | An EPD workbook lists an annual volume or score. | Attribute it to the audit and preserve its unit, year, and revision. |
| Calculated | This site converts MG to gallons or compares two reported years. | Show the formula and source values. Arithmetic does not strengthen weak inputs. |
| Documented explanation | A dated meter test, repair log, or validated revision explains a change. | State what the record supports and what it leaves unresolved. |
| Possible explanation | Meter replacement could explain higher recorded consumption. | Label it as a hypothesis and identify the record needed to test it. |
Unknown is a valid result. When a supporting record is unavailable, the cause remains unknown. An empty value is not zero. An unusual value is a reason to review the record, not evidence of wrongdoing.
What the costs mean in everyday terms
A utility buying treated water may pay for gallons that escape before they can be billed. A utility producing its own water may spend electricity and chemicals treating and pumping those gallons. Those costs affect the system budget, but a purchase contract may contain minimum payments and other fixed charges that do not fall when volume falls.
For an illustrative calculation, 10 MG at $500/MG equals $5,000. That is an estimate based on an assumed unit cost, not a verified saving for any utility in this project. Apparent losses use a different idea: 10 MG is 10,000 units of 1,000 gallons, so a $3 retail value would imply $30,000 in potential revenue. Potential revenue is not cash collected, and neither example includes the cost of corrective work.
Compare carefully
Read total losses and losses per connection or mile together. A larger utility can lose more gallons while having a lower normalized rate. A percentage can change when customer demand changes. Changing service boundaries, meter methods, software versions, or defaults can also limit a trend. A validity score describes the evidence and practices behind inputs; it is not a percentage accuracy guarantee.
ILI compares real losses with a modeled technical reference. It has limits for systems outside the model’s applicable conditions, and a value below 1 merits review of both the inputs and the system’s leakage-control evidence. It is not automatically an error. The Georgia manual, section 3.4, discusses these limits. Use the glossary for definitions and the records guide to investigate a change.
Sources: Georgia Rule 391-3-33-.02 defines loss categories and indicators. AWWA’s water-loss resources explain the audit framework. EPD publishes audit results and its guidance resources. The numerical examples above are illustrative.
Official learning and research resources
Georgia water-efficiency rules: Chapter 391-3-33
Rules apply to public systems regularly serving 3,300 or more individuals. They require annual audits, submission by March 1 for the previous calendar year, auditor certification, a water-loss control program, individual improvement goals and demonstrated progress for specified permitting actions. They do not establish one universal leakage percentage target.
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Open official resourceAWWA Free Water Audit Software
Free audit software, example audit, data-grading matrix and orientation. The current page offers version 6.1 as well as version 6.0; historical records should retain the software version actually used.
Utility staff and analysts
Open official resourceEPA: Water Audits and Water Loss Control
A July 2013 introductory guide to water balances, physical and apparent losses, and building a loss-control program.
All readers
Open official resourceEPA water-efficiency resources for small systems
Plain introductions and technical guidance for public-system operators, officials and technical assistance providers. Includes a guide to controlling distribution losses.
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Open official resourceGEFA water infrastructure financing
Georgia Fund and revolving-fund financing for eligible local governments and water/sewer authorities. Use current program documents for eligibility and financing terms.
Elected officials and utility boards
Open official resourceGEFA conservation financing
Eligible conservation projects may qualify for financing incentives. The page currently describes a one-percentage-point interest reduction; confirm current terms with GEFA before budgeting.
Elected officials and utility boards
Open official resourceGEFA loan application process
Application entry point and board consideration deadlines for state and revolving-fund loans.
Elected officials and utility boards
Open official resourceGEFA loan documents
Current loan policies, affordability criteria and required supporting documents. Prepare a project scope, engineering basis, cost estimate, financial information and governing-body authorization as appropriate to the selected program.
Elected officials and utility boards
Open official resourceCoosa-North Georgia regional water planning
Walker, Catoosa, Dade and Chattooga are among 18 counties in this planning region. Regional plans address broader supply and resource needs; the region is larger than this nine-utility study.
All readers
Open official resourceGeorgia qualified water-loss auditor program
Georgia Association of Water Professionals administers the certification program with EPD oversight. Training and audit validation support stronger input documentation.
Utility staff and boards
Open official resourceEPA public-water-system service areas
Boundaries combine state/utility data with EPA modeling. Modeled boundaries can differ from actual service territories. Verify local origin and coverage before mapping them as authoritative.
Researchers
Open official resourceEPA WaterSense: household volume benchmark
EPA says the average American family uses more than 300 gallons daily at home. Use 300 gallons only as an explicitly chosen illustration: 6.25 million divided by 300 is about 20,833 household-day equivalents. This does not count households affected or supplied.
All readers
Open official resourceWater Research Foundation: pressure and flow research
Professional research on pressure/flow management and pipe breaks. Its associated webcast requires an account; do not describe playback as freely accessible.
Engineers and utility boards
Open official resourceProfessional videos and recorded presentations
AWWA Free Water Audit Software v6.0: Orientation
Understand the audit worksheet, water balance and input grading. Useful background for the software used in recent historical records.
Suggested audience: Utility staff, journalists and interested analysts
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
Official organization links to the recording; playback controls/captions not manually inspected.
AWWA water audit software v6.0 upgrades webinar
AWWA-linked webinar about changes introduced with version 6.0.
Suggested audience: Technical analysts and audit preparers
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
Official AWWA page links to this URL; direct retrieval throttled. Use official resource page as fallback.
GEFA: 2027 Water Financing Call for Projects
GEFA staff explain current funding opportunities and project scoring for the Georgia Fund and state revolving funds.
Suggested audience: Officials, finance staff and utility boards
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
Official organization links to the recording; playback controls/captions not manually inspected.
GEFA: Principal Forgiveness in the Georgia State Revolving Fund
How eligible borrowers may receive loan principal forgiveness and how GEFA determines it.
Suggested audience: Officials and finance staff
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
Official organization links to the recording; playback controls/captions not manually inspected.
GEFA: Federal Requirements of the State Revolving Fund
Federal conditions that applicants should understand before using revolving-fund financing.
Suggested audience: Officials, utility boards and project managers
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
Official organization links to the recording; playback controls/captions not manually inspected.
EPA: Water Loss and Distribution System Infrastructure: Leak Detection and Cost Savings
July 25, 2017 webinar covers non-revenue-water management and small-system pipeline rehabilitation. Find the title in the official archive.
Suggested audience: Utility boards, operators and journalists
Open recording or archive · Organization’s source page
EPA explicitly identifies its archived recordings as closed-captioned; individual YouTube fetch failed, so provide the verified archive link.
Recording links verified through the sponsoring organizations. Individual playback, caption availability and player accessibility have not all been manually tested. No video automatically loads on this site.