Old Meters Found Culprit in Water Mystery

Nov. 11, 2003

It seemed millions of gallons of water each day were disappearing from the water system in Bethlehem, Pa., and local officials needed to know why.

The city and the local water authority spent nearly $300,000 and several years searching for answers. Now consultants have determined almost half of the 4.3 million gallons that goes unaccounted for each day could be due to a metering flaw, according to a report by Nicole Radzievich in The Morning Call.

Authority engineers Schoor DePalma of Manalapan, N.J., determined the water meters at the filtration plant register about 1.9 million gallons a day more than the amount actually used.

Back in the heyday of Bethlehem Steel, the measuring devices were designed for a system that pumped more water — about 65 million gallons a day. With the demise of the steel company, daily usage has dropped to 15 million gallons, making the meters less accurate, according to the engineers.

Bethlehem officials initially spent about $245,000 delving into the mystery of the missing water, the source of which is the city's 23,000-acre watershed in the Poconos.

After that study yielded no definite results, the authority — the financing arm of the city's water system — hired Schoor DePalma.

In only two months at a cost of $31,200, Schoor DePalma's own study uncovered the metering inaccuracies.

This solution seemed too easy for some officials who have been searching for an answer since the problem was discovered in 2000. ''In my mind, this seems to be too elementary, too simplistic,'' Mayor James Delgrosso told Radzievich.

He wants the findings of Schoor DePalma reviewed by the authority's former engineers, Gannett Fleming of Valley Forge, the city's Public Works Department, and other experts.

Public Works Director Michael Alkhal, who has not reviewed the report in depth yet, said he ''would be shocked'' if it were true.

''It does seem a little simple that so many, many people would have overlooked it,'' he told Radzievich. ''For this to be true, in my opinion, it would be extremely surprising.''

Schoor DePalma's report also attributes another 1.1 million gallons to unregistered uses, such as the water pumped by the Bethlehem Fire Department, street-sweeping by Public Works, and water theft.

A network the size of Bethlehem's 100-year-old system of 405 miles of pipes typically leaks about 900,000 gallons a day, according to Schoor DePalma, whose report estimates the daily water loss at about 2 million gallons.

These answers come after the city spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars for ADS Environmental Co. of Baltimore to audit the water system. After a year of looking into the problem, the consultant provided no definitive answers. In addition, they estimated that only 5 percent of the leaks was due to aging meters.

Source: The Morning Call

Sponsored Recommendations

Blower Package Integration

March 20, 2024
See how an integrated blower package can save you time, money, and energy, in a wastewater treatment system. With package integration, you have a completely integrated blower ...

Strut Comparison Chart

March 12, 2024
Conduit support systems are an integral part of construction infrastructure. Compare steel, aluminum and fiberglass strut support systems.

Energy Efficient System Design for WWTPs

Feb. 7, 2024
System splitting with adaptive control reduces electrical, maintenance, and initial investment costs.

Blower Isentropic Efficiency Explained

Feb. 7, 2024
Learn more about isentropic efficiency and specific performance as they relate to blowers.