Water Loss Opportunity Calculator
The infrastructure and financial case for water loss reduction — dollar-denominated exposure, peer context, and prioritized remediation paths.
Water loss is at or below the 10% TWDB planning standard. This utility is operating in maintenance mode with the financial value of sustained performance shown below.
Panel 1 · The Value of Sustained Performance
10-Year Cumulative Loss Projection
Panel 2 · Peer Context
Water Loss % vs. Anonymized Peers
Peers matched by size band (47,916 connections) and customer class mix (79% SF / 15% MF / 6% ICI).
Panel 3 · Top 3 Recommendations to Sustain Leadership
AWWA G500 / G480 Best-Practice Certification
Pursue formal AWWA water-loss management certification. Documents the utility's leadership position, supports rate-case arguments, and creates a sustained-performance baseline.
Peer-Utility Mentoring Program
Share methodology and lessons learned with peer Texas utilities through TWDB regional convenings. Strengthens statewide outcomes and positions the utility as a regional resource.
Continuous DMA Optimization
Ongoing refinement of existing DMA boundaries, night-flow analysis, and economic level of leakage (ELL) modeling. Maintains low loss as system ages.
Claude answers using this utility's real Water Conservation Plan Annual Report metrics, conservation plan goals, and program activity — not generic advice.
Methodology
Performance tiers: Utilities are classified as Healthy (≤10% water loss, at or below the TWDB planning standard), Opportunity (10–15%, infrastructure case warranted), or Critical (>15%, significant exposure). Tier drives panel framing, projection scenarios, and which remediation interventions are surfaced.
Real / Apparent loss split: Demo uses the AWWA M36 industry default of 70% real / 30% apparent. Production deploys the actual ratio from each utility's annual TCEQ-required Water Loss Audit (TWDB-1721 form), and the ratio is editable by utility staff during the interview module if their own audit data indicates a different split.
10-year trajectory projection: Uses the compound annual growth rate of water loss GPCD across the utility's available history. Cost inflation applied at 3.5% per year (BLS water/sewer CPI 10-year average).
10-year “no intervention” / “slip” projection: For Opportunity and Critical tier utilities, models current loss volume held flat for 10 years (the “do nothing” worst case). For Healthy tier utilities, models a gradual ramp toward the regional-average loss rate (12%) over 10 years — representing the financial value of continued discipline.
Remediation recommendations: Selected from a tier-aware library. Opportunity / Critical utilities see foundational interventions (AMI deployment, DMA programs, acoustic leak detection, pressure management, main replacement). Healthy utilities see advanced sustainment interventions (continuous DMA optimization, AWWA G500/G480 certification, predictive failure modeling, peer-utility mentoring). Interventions already mastered are filtered out (e.g., AMI recommendations are suppressed for utilities at 95%+ existing AMI coverage). Production deploys the full Goldwater Recommendation Engine (Phase 3) with scenario modeling.
Peer comparison: Same peer-matching logic as Tool 1 — size band ±1 and single-family ratio within ±15 points. Peer water loss percentages shown anonymized: low, median, top quartile. No utility names disclosed.