General News
New Tecumseth Town Council receives report on water audit/loss control
January 3, 2026 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
New Tecumseth council received a report from its public works department on the 2025 Water Audit and Water-Loss Control Program during a Dec. 15 regular meeting.
The report detailed the findings of the Non-Revenue Water Audit Study and Water Loss Control Program, including planned future initiatives.
In 2024, Tatham Engineering completed a water audit study, which highlighted three recommendations to address water loss.
In 2025, Tatham started work on Phase 2 of the project.
A leak detection task was completed, finding 8 leaks across the town.
Customer meter inspection testing is ongoing. Step testing is on hold.
The Non-Revenue Water Audit Study identified potential savings of 656,821 m³/year, or $2,459,794 per year, based on the initial non-revenue water loss calculations.
Continuing the Water Loss Control Program and addressing additional leaks and meter issues proactively will continue to provide savings for the Town of New Tecumseth and reduce overall water loss.
In December 2023, council adopted a motion to allocate $60,000 to undertake a Non-Revenue Water Audit Study.
A key component of any effective water conservation plan is understanding water loss within the system.
Water loss refers to water that does not travel from the source of supply to the end user.
This includes physical losses such as leaks and theft, and commercial losses such as unpaid bills, unbilled water, or incorrect billing due to poor metering or inaccurate customer records.
Non-revenue water significantly impacts the financial viability of water agencies through lost revenue, wasted water resources, and increased operational costs. A water audit is the process of identifying where these losses occur, quantifying them, and developing policies and programs to prevent them.
Over the past five years, the town’s calculated water loss has ranged from 13 to 18 per cent, with the most recent figure in 2023 at 18 per cent – equivalent to 790,800 m³ of unaccounted-for water.
It is important to note that some water uses in New Tecumseth are not billed, such as splash pads, town facilities, and operational activities.
Over the three towns, it was determined:
· Alliston: Seasonal losses ranged from 8 to 21 per cent, with peak losses occurring in summer months.
· Beeton: Non-revenue water was significantly high (34 to 47 per cent), which is common in smaller systems.
· Tottenham: Losses were relatively low, with about 50 per cent of non-revenue water attributed to auto-flushers and unmetered uses.
An acoustic leak detection survey was completed covering 1,216 municipal hydrants and 160km of watermains throughout New Tecumseth. A total of four leaks were identified in Alliston, one in Beeton, and three in Tottenham.
The town has fixed seven of the eight leaks since they were identified.
A total of 430 industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) properties within the town, as well as municipal facilities, were identified for review under this program. To date, 130 ICI properties have been reviewed, with 25 deficiencies identified. These deficiencies include bypass valves that were not locked or sealed, loose seals, and missing valves, which may indicate unauthorized use of water meter bypasses.
The town is currently developing a plan to address the identified meter deficiencies and is working to close this gap.
In addition to the current 2025 capital Water Loss Control programs, Council has approved additional funding for the Water Loss Control Programs through the 2026 capital funding program for future initiatives, which include ICI meter replacements, permanent leak detection in the distribution system, leak detection on the Collingwood Transmission Main, district metering, and stricter development site controls.
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