Water losses can account for significant costs for water systems and their customers.  Water losses 
also impact sewer system design and operating capacity when water demands are not well understood, and water leaks and unregulated flows cycle through to the wastewater system.

The purpose of the project is to develop the capacity of a pilot group of tribal 
utilities to implement a water loss auditing and control program based on American Water Works 
Association (AWWA) M36 tools and methods including the AWWA Free Water Audit Software.  The IHS 
will recruit tribal utilities from the national service area to participate.  Final selection of 
participants will be based on input from the project management team to ensure that the pilot will provide insight to future implementation of water loss programs.

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As part of this pilot program, the project management team will support eight tribal utilities to develop 
competencies to initiate a local water loss program and complete water audits using the AWWA Free 
Water Audit Software. Each tribal utility shall be encouraged to complete a water audit for a 
minimum of one community water system.  Utilities that successfully complete their initial audits 
before the end of the program will be eligible to get assistance to complete a second audit if 
time allows.

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The projected timeframe to provide training and implement the water loss program for all the 
participating tribal utilities is 18 months. [View program schedule and phase descriptions]

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Tribal utilities will gain:

1.    A foundational understanding of AWWA M36 methodology
2.    An industry recommended approach to apply AWWA methodology
3.    Knowledge of the tools used to assess and improve water loss performance at the utility level
4.    Informational management approach of the financial capacity loss to the water system

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At the end of the pilot program, the project management team will ensure that utilities are able to implement the basic level of a water loss program by being able to:

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1.    Describe the components of a water loss program
2.    Determine what data is relevant for the water audit analysis
3.    Identify the confidence level of the data
4.    Demonstrate utilization of the most current version of the AWWA free water audit software to 
run their own water loss audits
5.     Use the results from the water audit to improve utility management and identify best-value system investments