Detroit Is Losing Billions Of Gallons Of Treated Drinking Water Per Year
While certain portions of the globe are experiencing acute source water scarcity, one major American city has so much supply that it is losing an astounding amount of treated drinking water on a regular basis.
“Billions of gallons of drinking water are lost every year in Metro Detroit, enough to easily supply hundreds of thousands of homes,” The Detroit News reported. “The Great Lakes Water Authority estimates it loses 56 million gallons per day, or more than 20 billion per year, based on a 2020 water audit… The water authority measures water losses that occur on its own distribution system, but that figure does not include losses in communities that draw from the system.”
The authority has the good fortune of drawing its supply from the Great Lakes, which offer plenty of source water, despite what happens after the water system draws it. But even with plentiful source water, losing this much treated effluent represents a major cost.
“Treating 1 million gallons requires between $120 and $165 in energy and electricity costs,” per The Detroit News. “That puts the water authority’s estimated cost of water loss between roughly $2.5 million and $3.4 million annually.”
Though the volume and cost of this lost water loss may be surprising, Detroit’s water authority is not alone. Drinking water systems around the country see such unavoidable loss — so-called “real” loss due to infrastructure leaks, as well as “apparent” loss from unpaid use of effluent, like when fire hydrants are tapped.
To get a better grip on the problem, some advocacy groups are encouraging water systems like Detroit’s to look more closely into their effluent losses.
“The American Water Works Association, a drinking water industry group, and National Resources Defense Council have spent years advocating for communities to audit water loss regularly and for states to require those audits be conducted, verified and made public,” The Detroit News reported. “A state Senate bill introduced by Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, in March would require utilities to measure their drinking water losses.”
As municipal budgets tighten around the country, and more communities face pressure from increasing drought, it appears treated effluent loss will reach top of mind for many more water systems in the U.S.
To read more about how drinking water utilities deal with this issue, visit Water Online’s Water Loss And Leak Detection Solutions Center.