The NASCC team was working with an old installation, and facilities managers noticed that their water usage was excessive, but understanding how excessive it was, and where the leaks were located, required additional investigation.
In 2011, NASCC knew that the installation was using some 400 million gallons of water per year. A metering system installed in 2012 which more accurately measured water flow; however, the meters did not indicate how much water was being used.
Using utility bills and the measured amount of water flowing from the installation out to the surrounding ocean, the team set up a low-cost, high-return data analytics methodology to gauge water volume and leakage. Using the algorithm, NASCC determined that large amounts of water were not accounted for.
To help pinpoint water leaks in the system, NASCC also utilized the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Best Management Practice: Distribution Audits, Leak Detection and Repair. Additionally, the NASCC team institutionalized a water management program methodology as a monthly parameter executed during the periodic utility billing cycle.
Using the algorithm, the team began to identify where NASCC was losing water: near storm drains where water breaks went unnoticed, and through fire hydrants used by NASCC for periodic flushing to maintain water quality in the system.