12.1 INTRODUCTION

System optimization is in many cases far more cost-effective than system expansion and most always has a more positive environmental impact. Many water systems are designed considering the minimum level of pres- sure required for the demand types, but in many cases no consideration is made for maximum pressure levels. If no consideration or only basic consideration was made at the time of installation, there may very well be room for optimizing the pressures within a system. Pressure management is one of the most basic and cost-effective forms of optimizing a system and can in many instances provide fast paybacks on large investments. The diagram at the right shows where pressure management fits into the four-component scenario of real losses management.

Many systems are designed with minimum pressure requirements in mind but not maximum pressure limitations, so many systems have areas which are grossly over-pressured.

Pressure management has been around for many years in various forms, but only in the last few years has the use of advanced pressure control been used on a wide basis in system optimization and in loss reduction and management programs.

This chapter follows all the planning stages for a pressure control scheme, from deciding whether it is necessary and to what...