AWWA water audit in Qatium: support annual NRW audits
If your utility uses the AWWA annual water audit workflow, Qatium can help you support that process with network-level analysis.
Use Qatium to review zone performance, interpret audit results more clearly, and prioritize what to investigate next.
Heads up:
Qatium supports the operational side of the AWWA audit program. The formal annual audit is still completed in the AWWA software or your utility’s reporting workflow.
Use case
Use this workflow when you need to answer questions like:
- How can we support the AWWA annual water audit with better network context?
- Which zones may be driving the results we see in the audit?
- Where should we focus follow-up after the audit?
- What should we investigate first: leakage, pressure, metering, or data quality?
Using Qatium in this workflow can help you:
Before you begin
Before you begin, make sure you have the basics needed to analyze NRW in Qatium.
Minimum data requirements
To use this workflow in Qatium, you should have at least:
- A network model in Qatium
- Zones or DMAs set up in your network
- Inlets and outlets identified for each zone
This is the minimum needed to start organizing the network and reviewing NRW from an operational perspective.
Essential for deeper insights
For stronger analysis and better prioritization, you may also need:
- Flow readings for zone inlets and outlets
- Customer points
- Live demand data
- A demand setup that supports reliable simulation
- Pressure-management elements, such as PRVs
- Estimated leakage setup if you want to compare likely leakage by zone
- Enough data quality to compare zones over time and validate actions after interventions
These inputs are especially useful if you want to move beyond a basic network review and into leakage screening, efficiency analysis, pressure scenarios, and follow-up validation.
Tools
You need access to the tools available in the Non-revenue water work mode:
- Pressures
- Zones
- Model deviation
- Estimated leakage from emitters
- MNF monitor
- Pressure management
- Water footprint
These tools help you review network behavior, compare zones, detect anomalies, estimate likely leakage, test pressure-related actions, and support decision-making around NRW.
Heads up:
If you don't have access to these tools, you might need to upgrade your plan and/or contact us to set them up.
How to do it in Qatium
1. Use Qatium before the audit to review the network
Before completing the annual audit, use Qatium to review:
- zone boundaries
- inlets and outlets
- water balance insights by zone
- obvious differences between high- and low-performing areas
This helps you enter the audit with a better understanding of where NRW may be concentrated.
2. Use Qatium to support data validation and interpretation
Review:
- Pressure conditions
- Available flow and demand data
If the audit suggests major real losses, Qatium can help you check whether that pattern also appears operationally in specific zones.
3. Use MNF and estimated leakage to prioritize follow-up
Use the MNF monitor tool to see where night flow is rising or staying elevated.
Use Estimated leakage from emitters to compare likely leakage and identify where field investigation or pressure review may have the highest value.
This helps turn the annual audit result into a shortlist of practical follow-up actions.
4. Separate likely network actions from non-network actions
Use the results to decide what belongs in a network response and what belongs in another program.
For example:
- likely leakage and pressure issues can move into field investigation or pressure review inside Qatium
- apparent-loss findings may require metering, billing, or revenue protection follow-up outside Qatium
5. Test pressure-related actions where relevant
If the audit and network review suggest real-loss opportunities, use the Pressures panel and the Pressure management tool to test whether pressure changes could reduce leakage while maintaining service.
6. Track improvement after the audit
After interventions, use the same Qatium views to review whether conditions improved.
Look for:
- lower Minimum Night Flow
- lower estimated leakage
- improved zone behavior
- more stable pressure conditions
Want to try this to your own network?
We'll help you connect your AWWA audit workflow with operational analysis in Qatium.
Get in touch with our experts to explore how far you can go with your current zones, readings, and NRW process.
Quick tip:
Looking for the IWA framework for NRW management? See NRW management in Qatium using the IWA water balance.