One of the main challenges for all sanitation units in the country is reducing water loss on the way from the treatment station to the users’ homes. To improve this index and, above all, contribute to the environment, the Autonomous Municipal Water and Sewage Service (Samae) invested in a series of actions such as replacing and installing networks, changing water meters and a night team who roams the city in search of leaks. As a result, in 2022, it was possible to save approximately R$7.3 million by reducing losses.
Basically, water losses in the supply systems correspond to the difference between the total volume of water produced in the treatment stations and the sum of the volumes measured in the water meters installed in the users’ properties. The average annual loss volume of the municipality comes in descending order, with 48.40% in 2021 and 49.90% in 2020.
Photo by: Andréia Copini
Photo by: Andréia Copini
In 2022, the percentage dropped to 46.64%, and in the last quarter the average was 43.92%. According to the survey carried out, in 2020, the 5 ETAs (Samuara, Borges de Medeiros, Celeste Gobbato, Morro Alegre and Parque da Imprensa) produced 1,409 liters of water per second. In the following year, 1,397 L/s were produced. In 2022, the stations produced 1,358 L/s. It was observed that there was no reduction in consumption, but, due to the work done, it was possible to remove less water from the springs, in a saving of 39 L/s. In volume, this number represents more than the flow that leaves the ETA Borges de Medeiros to supply the Central area of the city, which has 1,948 connections.
According to the director-president of Samae, Gilberto Meletti, combating losses demands a permanent effort because, over time, the infrastructure ages, new leaks appear, water meters lose precision and irregularities increase.
“To reduce losses, it is necessary to increase the application of resources as we did, for example, with the implementation of the São Virgílio-Altos de Galópolis pipeline, the replacement of 18 thousand water meters throughout the year, but, mainly, the night geophoning that has been a great ally for the public coffers”. In 2022, 193 km of networks were covered, resulting in 255 localized leaks and 344 repairs. “These are very expressive numbers. Through this work, more than 1.2 million m³ of water were saved throughout the year, which totals savings of 7.3 million reais”, highlights Meletti.
In 2022, the Commercial Superintendence replaced 18,436 water meters that had been in use for more than 5 years and had flaws in the consumption marking. Meletti also mentions the replacement of the pipeline on Avenida Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho, inaugurated in November, in which 3,500 meters of network were installed to serve more than 10 neighborhoods and subdivisions in the southeastern region of the city, benefiting more than 12,000 people.
“A very old fiber cement net, dating back to the 1980s, which broke frequently,” he explains. The CEO also comments on the network implemented to supply São Virgílio-Altos de Galópolis. “The more than 550 families were supplied by water truck, at no cost. Today, with the network, all residences are metered, reducing commercial losses”, he points out, also remembering the annual contract of the municipality where 10 km of old networks are replaced in the city.
Finally, Meletti projects that in the coming years, continuing the actions and adding others, it will be possible to reach an even lower average of losses. “It is still a high percentage but, compared to other Brazilian cities and even to other years of Samae, we are improving. Our goal is to reduce each month, seeking to produce according to consumption needs”.
