Finding the Invisible Leaks: How Smart Platforms Are Helping Utilities Tackle Water Loss

As water loss and leak detection rise to the top of utility priorities, smart platforms are proving essential in the fight against non-revenue water. In this post, we explore how utilities are using AI-powered tools to detect leaks faster, automate water loss monitoring, and deliver measurable results — without major capital investment.

The Non-Revenue Water Problem Is Bigger Than You Think

Every day, utilities across the U.S. treat and deliver millions of gallons of clean drinking water only to see a significant portion of it vanish before it reaches customers. Whether it’s from undetected leaks, meter inaccuracies, or unauthorized consumption, non-revenue water (NRW) remains a persistent and costly challenge.

For many communities, water loss exceeds 20% of total production. And the longer it goes unaddressed, the more it chips away at budgets, strains infrastructure, and erodes public trust.

But that’s changing. With new smart water platforms like AURA™, utilities are not just tracking water loss, they’re finding it, fixing it, and preventing it, using data they already have.

Why Utilities Are Paying More Attention to NRW

Several factors are driving the growing interest in water loss management:

• Aging infrastructure: Many systems are decades old and prone to breaks, leaks, and inefficiencies.

• Regulatory pressure: Some states are now requiring utilities to quantify and reduce NRW.

• Rising water rates: Customers expect accountability when rates go up.

• Available data: With the rise of AMI meters and SCADA, utilities are generating more data than ever — they just need help making sense of it.

The Opportunity: Turning Meter Data into Actionable Intelligence

One mid-sized city recently proved what’s possible. With over 50,000 customer meters and water supplied through a regional authority, the city faced the classic challenge: they had all the data — just not the tools or resources to use it effectively.

Instead of investing in new hardware, they adopted AURA, a cloud-based AI platform built for utilities. In just weeks, they deployed a fully integrated solution for:

• Resident leak detection

• City-wide water loss monitoring

• Automated reporting and alerting

• Early anomaly detection based on usage patterns

The results were immediate and measurable.

Resident Leak Detection: From One Month to One Day

Before the smart platform was deployed, the utility relied on monthly audits to identify high water usage. By the time residents were notified, leaks had often persisted for weeks — sometimes costing hundreds of dollars in lost water.

With AURA, the city now sends 50–100 leak notification letters every week, identifying anomalies just days after they occur.

One utility staff member shared:

“I can send out triple the high-usage notifications in the same time as before. It’s saving our residents money and reducing complaints to city hall.”

Water Loss Quantification: Automating the Invisible

On the supply side, AURA automatically calculates daily, weekly, and quarterly water loss — in gallons, dollars, and percentage — using real-time flow and consumption data. No manual spreadsheets. No guesswork.

GIS-based dashboards highlight leak hotspots, sustained anomalies, and episodic spikes. Field staff can view alerts on tablets and inspect flagged zones without needing additional hardware.

“Without capital investment or major effort, the platform saved us significant time and money — and gave us the insights we never had before.”
— Utility Superintendent

Regional Benefits at Scale

In another region, a major water authority adopted the AURA platform for more than 100 communities. This shared smart water platform has become a backbone for regional water intelligence, offering:

• Daily flow and pressure analytics

• Chlorine and quality heatmaps

• Flushing advisors and compliance dashboards

• Leak alerts across member systems

Communities can integrate their own smart meter data, distribution networks, and even hydraulic models to build digital twins of their systems — helping them fine-tune operations and proactively manage risk.

During COVID-19, more than 20 communities opted in remotely, proving the system’s flexibility and ease of deployment.

Real Results: What Communities Are Seeing

Across both individual cities and regional partners, the impact has been clear:

• Residents are saving up to $500 per leak after early notifications

• Utilities have eliminated manual leak audits and accelerated response

• Digital insights helped justify smart meter upgrades to city councils

• Compliance, billing, and O&M teams are all working from the same platform

• Automation has reduced workload while increasing service speed

One utility used the platform to identify a closed valve after a repair that created a dead-end and chlorine residual drop. Another integrated pressure sensors to track fluctuations in real time and avoid main breaks.

Why This Matters: Beyond Water Loss

Tackling non-revenue water isn’t just about plugging holes in the system — it’s about building smarter utilities.

By proactively managing leaks and water loss, utilities can:

• Reduce unplanned O&M costs

• Delay capital investments

• Improve billing accuracy

• Enhance customer trust

• Align with state reporting mandates

And with cloud-based platforms like AURA, they can do it without major capital projects or IT overhead.

Ready to Take Control of Water Loss?

Whether you're managing a single community or a regional network, the tools now exist to make non-revenue water visible, measurable, and solvable.

Aquasight’s AURA platform empowers utilities to move from reactive to proactive — and from data-rich to insight-driven.

➡️ Schedule a demo or contact us to learn how your utility can start saving time, money, and water — today.