title: Review on water leakage control in distribution networks and the associated environmental benefits.
abstract: Water supply is the primary element of an urban system. Due to rapid urbanization and water scarcity, maintaining a stable and safe water supply has become a challenge to many cities, whereas a large amount of water is lost from the pipes of distribution systems. Water leakage is not only a waste of water resources, but also incurs great socio-economic costs. This article presents a comprehensive review on the potential water leakage control approaches and specifically discusses the benefits of each to environmental conservation. It is concluded that water leakage could be further reduced by improving leakage detection capability through a combination of predictive modeling and monitoring instruments, optimizing pipe maintenance strategy, and developing an instant pressure regulation system. The environment could benefit from these actions because of water savings and the reduction of energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
authors: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: qiangxu@rcees.ac.cn.
authors: Qiang
authors: Q
authors: Xu
authors: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors: Ruiping
authors: R
authors: Liu
authors: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; Center for Eco-Environmental Research, Nanjing Hydraulics Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China. Electronic address: qchen@rcees.ac.cn.
authors: Qiuwen
authors: Q
authors: Chen
authors: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors: Ruonan
authors: R
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D004777:Environment; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
keywords: environmental benefits; water distribution system; water leakage control