A water-tight strategy for your water system

Last month, we tapped together into the priorities of designing your strategy to achieve your targets, whether those are reducing leaks, improving feasibility, or cutting down costs. Seems like a boring topic and think that I don’t have something cooler to talk about? I get it.

We agree that strategic planning isn’t new, and it isn’t trendy. You might even think we know everything there is to know about strategic planning by this point. You’d probably be wrong. Many of us know what strategic planning is, but very few understand how to do it.

The way we define strategy is changing. We used to build our strategy based on assumptions, speculations, and previous patterns. We've seen the shift to a more data-driven approach and, recently, the utilization of advanced technologies to navigate the uncertainties that future flows had to bring along.

So, the question is: how to put together a strategy that works for today's dynamics and tomorrow's uncertainties?

Let’s explore the answer!

Water proof: how has a water-tight strategy helped utilities achieve results FAST?

[Pun intended ??]

Want to reduce leaks? Get a better understanding of how to identify the best approach to do it.?

Want to improve feasibility? Understand your issues and your requirements.

Want to cut down costs fast? Understand what makes a best fit for your network needs.?

Strategic planning is fundamental for achieving tangible results, but do not take my word for it. You'd rather take a look at how other utilities did it.

Meet Salfit Municipality, a small-scale utility in Palestine. Their journey started by setting clear goals to improve water supply efficiency and reduce losses. They reviewed their system, identified issues, and developed a practical plan for change. By improving their strategy, they save 10 million liters of water on a monthly basis, a big win for a focused and well-designed strategy.

→ Ready to go into the details? Check out Salfit case study!

How to build a winning strategy?

Strategic planning is a fundamental input into every tactic we execute, every approach we follow, every issue we work to solve, and every decision we make.

If we fail at strategy, we fail at implementation. If we fail at implementation, all our targets fall apart.

So, where do you begin in building your strategy? Here is a summary of the main pillars to include in your water network's management strategy:

?→ Define the current status: to evaluate current operations, assessing daily tasks, time allocation, and responsibilities.

? → Set your targets: those could be to enhance water network efficiency, reduce workload, or provide a reliable water supply for the community.

? → Analyze your strengths (and weaknesses): Conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses. Leverage strengths and address weaknesses to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate threats.

? → Allocate resources: after setting the priorities and identifying pain points, we start looking for ways to tackle each of these pain points.

? → Implement!?

→ Interested in improving your strategy for loss reduction? Reach out to us today!

From planning to execution: how can you manage more than 1000 DMAs in one place?

Most utilities struggle to achieve their leak reduction target. When we look into the causes we often see that this is mainly because of lack of focus. Looking for leaks in a wide-spread and interconnected water network is like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Network operators and leak managers are always looking for ways to drive leaks lower. The problem is they are faced with loads of questions: where to start? How to prioritize the planned interventions? How much does it cost? And What to expect?

Prioritization is KEY! The way to prioritize your leak detection activities is to define a set of criteria to identify the potential gains of tackling water leaks in each DMA:

??→ Maximum recoverable leak: using advanced analytics and KPI’s like UARL, you would be able to quantify the maximum recoverable leakage volume, which would help you set more realistic targets for leak reduction.

??→ Fixed and variable area leak: by breaking down your leak into fixed and variable area leaks, you get a better idea of what interventions make more sense and how to set more effective mitigation strategies.

??→ Consumption reduction: reducing per capita consumption could also be a wise intervention where there is a lot of waste on the consumer.?

This is how you can deal with analyzing lots of DMAs in your network. Flowless platform helps you streamline the process by prioritizing DMAs based on those factors and using scenario analysis to predict the results of planned interventions. By identifying high-priority areas, you would allocate resources more efficiently, targeting the most critical zones first.

Those insights empower you to develop targeted action plans. Your plans may involve pressure management: optimize pressure zones to minimize leakage while maintaining high customer service levels.

→ Ready to upgrade your leak detection strategy? Contact us today to learn how our data-driven solutions help you achieve your water conservation goals.

At the end of the day, you have a limit on what you can do in one day, so better to plan for better resource allocation.

Upgrade your strategy today and drop us a DM to schedule a demo and take the first step towards a more efficient and actionable water loss reduction strategy.

Let's Talk!