IWA water balance in Qatium: manage NRW by zone
If your utility uses the IWA water balance to understand non-revenue water (NRW), Qatium can help you apply that framework to your network.
Use Qatium to review NRW at zone level, interpret likely loss patterns, and decide where to investigate next.
Heads up:
Qatium helps you operationalize the IWA framework in your network. Some accounting, billing, or reporting steps may still happen outside Qatium.
Use case
Use this workflow when you need to answer questions like:
- Which zones are most likely contributing to NRW?
- Is the issue more consistent with real losses or apparent losses?
- Where should we investigate first?
- How can we move from water balance theory to practical action?
This workflow is especially useful when you want to interpret NRW categories more clearly, compare zones over time, or support decisions with better operational evidence.
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. Start from the NRW component you want to understand
Use the IWA lens to define the question first:
- Are you trying to localize likely real losses?
- Are you looking for evidence that the issue may require apparent-loss follow-up outside Qatium?
- Do you need a clearer zone-by-zone interpretation of the water balance?
2. Review zones and water balance insights
Open your network and review your zones or DMAs.
Focus on:
- Net flow
- Efficiency, if available
- Minimum Night Flow
- pressure conditions
- any visible differences between zones
This gives you a zone-by-zone operational view of NRW.
3. Use MNF Monitor and Estimated leakage to interpret likely real losses
Use the MNF monitor tool to review night flow trends by zone.
Use Estimated leakage from emitters to compare likely leakage across the network and identify the zones that may justify follow-up.
Together, these tools help you build a shortlist for field investigation. If the signals point to leakage, that zone is a stronger candidate for real-loss investigation.
5. Test pressure-related actions
If the evidence points to real losses, use the Pressures panel and the Pressure management tool to review current pressure conditions and test whether pressure changes could help reduce leakage.
This helps you evaluate possible actions before making field changes.
6. Decide what needs operational follow-up
Use the results to decide whether the next step is:
- field investigation for likely real losses
- pressure-related review
- more data validation
- follow-up on apparent losses outside Qatium
7. Validate the results after action
After repairs or operational changes, return to the same views in Qatium and check whether conditions improved.
Look for:
- lower Minimum Night Flow
- lower estimated leakage
- improved zone behavior
- more stable pressure conditions
This helps you confirm whether the action had the expected effect.
Want to try this to your own network?
We'll help you operationalize the IWA water balance in Qatium.
Get in touch with our experts to explore how far you can go with your current zones, readings, and data setup.
Quick tip:
Looking for the annual audit workflow? See NRW management in Qatium for the AWWA annual water audit.