Working to reduce water loss

As New Zealand grapples with aging water infrastructure and increasing demand, Rationale has been a key partner in helping Wellington Water Ltd (WWL) tackle water loss and manage acute water shortages.

Over the past few years, we have worked closely with WWL to deliver analysis, advice, and oversight across various teams within the organization.

A major focus of our work has been reducing water loss caused by aging infrastructure. This work has included driving process improvements, enhancing data maturity, conducting financial modelling, and more. Essentially, we have been working alongside WWL to equip them with actionable insights to manage its water supply more effectively.

During the summer of 2023-24, we played a central role in supporting the Acute Water Supply & Demand (AWSD) Steering Group. Using WWL’s Sustainable Yield Model (SYM), we developed dynamic risk forecasts to assess the likelihood and severity of water shortages on a weekly basis.

This reporting bridged the gap between technical modelling and strategic decision-making, which gave confidence to WWL’s leadership enabling them to make decisions based on the latest data available.

Rationale also has been assisting WWL in target-setting and communicating progress to Taumata Arowai in relation to water loss improvements. This has been driven by use of best practice tools and guidelines to provide baselines and appropriate performance measures. This benefits framework allows Wellington Water to estimate how much water is being saved by the ongoing work in this space and take action accordingly.

These efforts have delivered tangible results. Forecasts indicate that the risk of severe water restrictions this summer has been significantly reduced, with the probability of restrictions dropping by over half.

With continued focus on the initiative outlined above, the challenges posed by aging infrastructure and the risk of acute water shortages can be further mitigated, ensuring a more secure water future for Wellington.

The tools and methodologies developed for WWL have broader applications. The work delivered across water loss, for instance, is applicable to other entities wanting to improve their maturity in this space. Rationale’s experience in data-driven analytics is adaptable to any client looking to maximise the value from their information.

Looking ahead, Rationale remains committed to helping our clients to build long-term resilience and sustainability across their infrastructure activities and continue maturing in asset management.

The collaboration between Rationale and WWL has demonstrated significant value, both for our team and for our client.

This aligns closely with our continuous focus on improving places for people by helping public sector organisations make well-informed investment decisions. Whether it's infrastructure, strategy or support, it’s about creating a better world by improving the places we live, work and play.

For our part, we will continue to work with the public sector to bring focus and help solve problems, ensuring decision makers can concentrate on providing what’s best for their communities. Simply put, we see every challenge as an opportunity, and we thrive on the tough stuff.

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