ABSTRACT
Water distribution systems consist of hundreds of kilometers of pipes that are often buried and forgotten, but water losses through leakage occur continuously. Leakage of water takes place from mains and service connections at joints and fittings, from breaks due to excessive loads and holes arising from corrosion. In the last years an increased awareness of leakage has been taken into account by water companies, due to several factors: a greater sensitivity to conserve the environment, as a way to diminish the risk of pathogenic intrusions (Funk et al., 1999), and as a tool to manage a drought (American Water Works Association, 1992).
