[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 149 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44945-44946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17661]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION

18 CFR Part 410


Proposed Amendments to the Water Code and Comprehensive Plan To 
Implement a Revised Water Audit Approach to Identify and Control Water 
Loss

AGENCY: Delaware River Basin Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Delaware River Basin Commission (``Commission'' or 
``DRBC'') will hold a public hearing to receive comments on proposed 
amendments to the Commission's Water Code and Comprehensive Plan to 
phase in a requirement for water purveyors to follow a revised water 
audit approach to identify and control water loss.

DATES: Comments: Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. October 3, 
2008.
    Meeting and public hearing: The Commission will hold an 
informational meeting on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 from 4 p.m. to 6 
p.m. The Commission also will hold a public hearing on Thursday, 
September 25, 2008 at the Commission's office building. The hearing 
will begin at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until all those who wish to 
testify are afforded an opportunity to do so. For more information 
regarding the procedures for these hearings and comments, see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The informational meeting and public hearing will be held at 
the Commission's office building, which is located at 25 State Police 
Drive, West Trenton, New Jersey. Driving directions are available on 
the Commission's Web site--http://www.drbc.net. Please do not rely on 
Internet mapping services as they may not provide accurate directions 
to the DRBC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: For further information, please 
contact Pamela Bush, Commission Secretary and Assistant General 
Counsel, Delaware River Basin Commission, at 609-883-9500 ext. 203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Persons wishing to testify at the public 
hearing are asked to register in advance by phoning Ms. Paula Schmitt 
at 609-883-9500, ext. 224.
    Written comments may be submitted as follows: If by e-mail, to 
[email protected]; if by fax, to Commission Secretary at 
609-883-9522; if by U.S. Mail, to Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 
7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or if by overnight mail, to 
Commission Secretary, DRBC, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 
08628-0360. In all cases, please include the commenter's name, address 
and affiliation, if any, in the comment document and include ``Water 
Audit'' in the subject line.
    Background. An estimated 150 million gallons of treated and 
pressurized water is physically lost from public water supply 
distribution systems in the Delaware River Basin per day and current 
methods to account for, track and reduce this loss are inadequate.
    The purpose of the proposed amendments is to phase in a program 
requiring water purveyors to perform a water audit and report their 
findings in accordance with a new audit structure established by the 
American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Water 
Association (IWA). These new methods are widely regarded as superior to 
the existing approach, which entails tracking ``unaccounted for 
water,'' which is no longer considered best practice.
    The new water audit methodology provides a rational approach that 
will facilitate more consistent tracking and reporting than the 
existing approach allows. It will help water managers and regulators, 
including the Commission, state agencies, and utility managers, target 
their efforts to improve water supply efficiency, thereby reducing 
water withdrawals. Improving water accountability will contribute to 
achieving objective 1.3.C of the Water Resources Plan for the Delaware 
River Basin, which calls for ensuring

[[Page 44946]]

maximum feasible efficiency of water use across all sectors.
    The Commission's Water Management Advisory Committee (WMAC), which 
has taken primary responsibility for reviewing the proposed audit 
methodology and developing these amendments, is composed of 
representatives from a wide range of public and private sector 
organizations. WMAC membership includes: Mr. Ferdows Ali, Environmental 
Scientist with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture; Ms. Janet L. 
Bowers, Executive Director of the Chester County Water Resources 
Authority; Mr. Gerald Esposito, President of Tidewater Utilities; Mr. 
David Froehlich, of the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association; Mr. 
David Jostenski, Chief of the Water Use Assessment Section of the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Mr. Mark Hartle, 
of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, Division of Environmental 
Services; Mr. Stewart Lovell, Supervisor of Water Allocations of the 
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; Mr. 
John Mello, of Region II of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
Mr. Bruno M. Mercuri, of Mercuri and Associates, Inc.; Dr. Joseph A. 
Miri, of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Water 
Supply Element; Mr. Robert Molzahn, of the Water Resources Association 
of the Delaware River Basin; Mr. Howard Neukrug, of the Philadelphia 
Water Department; Ms. Mary Ellen Noble, of the Delaware Riverkeeper 
Network; Ms. Senobar Safafar, of the New York City Department of 
Environmental Protection, Strategic Services Division, Bureau of Water 
Supply; Mr. Tom Simms, Director of the Institute of Soil and 
Environmental Quality of the University of Delaware DGS Annex; Mr. 
Ronald A. Sloto, of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources 
Division; Ms. Edith Stevens, of the League of Women Voters; and Mr. 
Glen Stevens, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    On May 25, 2004, the WMAC established a subcommittee to investigate 
the issue of water loss and water accountability in light of new 
methods proposed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the 
International Water Association (IWA). The subcommittee met on four 
occasions to review the Commission's current policies concerning water 
loss and water accountability and to discuss the new methods. The 
DRBC's current policies are based on the concept of ``unaccounted for 
water,'' which is no longer considered best practice. The new methods 
are based upon more precise definitions and more rational accounting 
procedures that will result in a clearer understanding on the part of 
utility managers and regulators of the causes of water loss. The new 
methods will thus facilitate targeted improvements that reduce system 
water demands, with region-wide benefits. DRBC staff participated in 
the development of water audit software based on the new accounting 
methods, in an effort led by the AWWA Water Loss Control Committee 
(WLCC).
    On March 16, 2005, after listening to a presentation outlining the 
benefits of the new water accountability methods, the DRBC 
Commissioners asked DRBC staff and the WMAC to develop a position 
statement and policy recommendations for the Commission and to engage 
water purveyors in the Basin in a pilot study of the newly developed 
water audit software in order to test the software and solicit 
feedback.
    Six water purveyors from the Delaware River Basin were identified 
to participate in the nationwide pilot study. The comments and feedback 
provided to AWWA led to improvements in the software. In March 2006, 
the software was approved by the AWWA WLCC and was posted on the AWWA 
Web site, where it is available at no charge to all users. Links to the 
software are posted on the water conservation page of the DRBC Web 
site: http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/policy.htm.
    The WMAC and its subcommittee determined that the IWA/AWWA water 
audit methodology represents an improvement to the Commission's current 
practices and can lead to multiple benefits for water utilities and 
other stakeholders. It is anticipated that adoption of the IWA/AWWA 
approach will:
     Improve upon the traditional approach for identifying 
``unaccounted for water,'' which lacks standardized terminology and a 
clearly defined water audit structure.
     Provide a rational water audit structure to help identify 
water losses and improve water supply system efficiency.
     Provide meaningful performance indicators to help identify 
systems with the greatest losses. These indicators allow water utility 
managers to make reliable comparisons of performance and to identify 
best practices to control water loss in an economical way.
     Identify ways to improve water supply efficiency and 
thereby reduce water withdrawals that have no beneficial end use.
     Help to target efforts to reduce the estimated 150 million 
gallons per day that is physically lost from public water supply 
distribution systems in the Basin.
     Enhance utility revenues by enabling utility managers to 
recover the significant revenue that is otherwise lost due to apparent 
losses such as theft of service, unbilled connections, meter 
discrepancies and data errors.
     Help utility managers and regulators identify real losses 
(such as leakage) that waste treated and pressurized water and increase 
operating costs. Significant real losses indicate opportunities for 
improved asset management that can reduce the vulnerability of 
utilities to disruptive water main breaks, other service disruptions 
and water quality upsets.
    Because the water audit approach is relatively new in a regulatory 
context, the proposed amendments call for phased implementation. Until 
2011, the DRBC will promote the voluntary use of the IWA/AWWA water 
audit program. During this period, information will be gathered from 
within the Basin and nationwide to assist in the establishment of 
performance indicators for water loss, which ultimately will replace 
the ``unaccounted for water'' targets. If approved, the proposed 
amendments will require water purveyors to perform an annual water 
audit conforming to the IWA/AWWA methodology, beginning in calendar 
year 2012.
    The proposed amendments also require changes in the way data 
pertaining to water loss are collected by the state agencies and shared 
with DRBC.
    The text of the proposed Water Code amendments is available on the 
DRBC Web site, drbc.net. A copy can also be obtained by contacting 
Paula Schmitt at 609-883-9500, ext. 224.

    Dated: July 28, 2008.
Pamela M. Bush,
Commission Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-17661 Filed 7-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6360-01-P