Avaliação das perdas de água em redes de distribuição: aplicação para a zona de medição e controlo Unidade 7, cidade de Maputo

Abstract

The oldest civilizations created aqueducts to transport water from its source to consumption points. Over time, systems evolved to the contemporary era. Along with this evolution, less positive issues have emerged, such as water losses. The objective of this study was to assess water losses in distribution networks, applied to the Unidade 7 District Metered Area, belonging to the Chamanculo Operational Area, in the city of Maputo. The methodology was based on bibliographic research, data collection from the Águas da Região Metropolitana de Maputo, and field visits. Based on the collected data, it was possible to determine the volume of water lost in 2022 with the help of the software called AWWA Free Audit Software v6.0, which is based on the system's water balance, and then identify nodes with a probability of leakage registration, using Bentley WaterGEMS software, assisted by the Darwin Calibrator-Leakage Detection module. The Unidade 7 District Metered Area has an intermittent water supply system, with an average daily distribution time of 9 hours. The results showed that the percentage of water loss in the study area for 2022 is 9.54%. Furthermore, the detection of nodes in the distribution network with potential leakage pointed to: 11 nodes between 0h-3h; 8 nodes between 13h-15h; 12 nodes between 16h-19h; and finally, 13 nodes between 20h-23h. Therefore, it can be said that the Unidade 7 District Metered Area is well-defined and has an acceptable percentage of water loss when compared to the Mozambican reality, with losses occurring predominantly during the night. Additionally, conducting studies of this nature that cover other areas in the City of Maputo, the province, and the country can improve best practices for water loss management and reduction in Mozambique