At a meeting of the Austin Water Implementation Task Force, Austin Water staff described the causes of a large year‑to‑year increase in measured water loss and outlined steps to reduce leaks and improve metering and data systems.

The utility said two accounting and measurement corrections largely explain a roughly 30% jump in its industry loss index (ILI) from 2023 to 2024, and that it will pursue an expanded program of service‑line replacement, additional condition assessment, and new data and meter QA to bring losses down.

Austin Water emphasized the difference between “real losses” (physical leaks) and “apparent losses” (metering/billing errors) and said work across both fronts is required. Matt Cullen, division manager for pipeline engineering and operation support at Austin Water, said, “And so we’ve been increasing and that’s not where we want to be,” describing three main drivers: corrected plant production measurements, a municipal accounting reporting glitch in 2023, and an increase in measured real losses.

Cullen said Black & Veatch’s audit of Austin Water yielded 32 recommendations; 9 have been completed, 18 are in progress and five remain dependent on other actions. The utility plans to hire a full‑time water‑loss engineer, expand internal audit capacity (four staff certified to submit water audits versus one previously), and operationalize standard operating procedures for meter calibration and data handling.

On infrastructure, Cullen said main‑line renewal will continue (the current five‑year CIP includes roughly $49 million for mains). Service lines were called out as a top implementation priority: the utility increased its five‑year budget for service replacements to $18 million and said it has secured a $45 million low‑interest Water Development Board loan intended to replace roughly 6,000 of the worst service lines, many identified as polybutylene piping.

Cullen and others described the mix of tactics the utility is using: proactive large‑diameter condition assessment that recently identified prestressed concrete cylinder pipe with degraded wire wraps before a catastrophic failure; expanded leak detection (whole‑system cyclic surveys plus targeted investigations); district‑metered areas (DMAs) tied to the AMI network to detect anomalies; improved plant metering (including adding secondary meters or reconfiguring piping to improve accuracy); and better internal processes for billing and unauthorized consumption estimation.

Dan (Austin Water staff noted in the meeting as an experienced water‑loss specialist) and others emphasized that some of the 2023‑to‑2024 increase was a measurement correction: a few production meters were configured with upper‑range limits and were “topping out,” causing under‑reporting in earlier years. Cullen said correcting those meters added roughly 0.5–1.0 billion gallons to the 2024 measured inflow compared with 2023.

The utility reported an industry data validity score in the 60s–70s range and said it will continue regular participation in professional water‑loss forums (AWWA and North American Water Loss conferences) and to pilot new pressure monitoring, PRV telemetry, and AMI‑based leak detection tools. Cullen said the improvements will take time but that the two largest accounting/measurement issues have been fixed and are not expected to recur in 2025.

Ending: Austin Water asked the task force for patience as investments and technical fixes take effect. Staff said they will continue quarterly reporting to the task force and that the water‑loss engineer and a clearer, more automated data pipeline will be priorities in the coming months.