# Non revenue water software that turns your annual water audit into something you can defend

> Non revenue water is the gap between the water a utility puts into distribution and the water it bills for. Neurobird computes the AWWA M36 water balance from your meter, SCADA and billing data, grades every input, splits apparent losses from real losses, and produces a state ready water audit. Built for utility operations managers who currently rebuild that spreadsheet by hand every year.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/waterloss/
- Product: Neurobird Water Loss Non Revenue Audit Platform
- Niche: water loss non revenue
- Buyer: water utilities
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-21

## What Neurobird Water Loss Non Revenue does

- Compute the AWWA M36 water balance from meter and billing data
- Separate apparent losses from real losses with a data grade on every input
- Rank leak candidates by volume lost per day so crews chase the biggest first
- Produce the state submission without rebuilding the spreadsheet each year

## How it works

1. **Connect your sources** Pull system input volume from SCADA or production records and billed consumption from your billing system. Nothing is retyped.
2. **Grade every input** Each figure carries an AWWA data grade, so the balance shows its own confidence instead of implying false precision.
3. **Rank what to fix** Leak candidates sort by estimated volume lost per day, so crews chase the biggest number first rather than the loudest complaint.

## From the source material

> Real losses are the actual physical losses of water from the distribution system and include such things as reservoir overflows, leaky valves, and water main breaks.

Source: Washington State DOH, leakage and water loss, https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/water-system-design-and-planning/water-use-efficiency/leakage-and-water-loss

## Industry context

- **6 billion gallons** Treated drinking water estimated lost every day across US systems, enough to fill more than 9,000 swimming pools. (source: ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/drinking-water-infrastructure/)
- **Every 2 minutes** A water main breaks somewhere in the United States, which is where a large share of real losses originates. (source: ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/drinking-water-infrastructure/)
- **20% per year** Reduction in main breaks per 100 miles of pipe since 2018, evidence that targeted programmes work when losses are measured properly. (source: ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/drinking-water-infrastructure/)
- **40 of 50** State water managers expecting shortages under average conditions in some part of their state, which is why regulators increasingly ask for the audit. (source: US EPA WaterSense, citing GAO, https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts)
- **AWWA M36** The industry standard method for the annual water audit, and the basis for the free AWWA audit software most utilities start with. (source: American Water Works Association, https://www.awwa.org/resource/water-loss-control/)

## Pricing

- Single system: $250 per month, billed annually
- Utility: $650 per month, billed annually
- Regional: $1,200 per month, billed annually

## Questions

### What is non revenue water?

Non revenue water is the difference between the volume a utility puts into distribution and the volume it bills for. It covers real losses such as leaks and breaks, apparent losses such as meter under-registration and billing error, and unbilled authorised consumption such as hydrant flushing.

### How do you calculate a water balance?

You start with system input volume, subtract billed authorised consumption to get non revenue water, then split that into unbilled authorised consumption, apparent losses and real losses. The AWWA M36 method assigns a data grade to each input so the result carries a confidence level rather than a false precision.

### Does this replace our AMI or SCADA system?

No. It reads from them. AMI gives you consumption, SCADA gives you production, and the audit sits on top to reconcile the two and tell you where the gap is.

### Can it produce our state validated audit submission?

That is the point of it. The output is formatted for state submission with each input carrying its data grade and its source, so a validator can follow your arithmetic.

## Sources

- [California DWR Water Audit Manual](https://cwc.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Urban-Water-Use-Efficiency/Validated-Water-Loss-Reporting/California-Department-of-Water-Resources-Water-Audit-Manual-2016.pdf)
- [Washington State DOH, leakage and water loss](https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/water-system-design-and-planning/water-use-efficiency/leakage-and-water-loss)
- [Colorado Water Conservation Board, urban water efficiency](https://cwcb.colorado.gov/focus-areas/supply/urban-water-efficiency)
- [Alliance for Water Efficiency, water loss policy](https://allianceforwaterefficiency.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Water-Loss-Policy-Statement_FINAL_2016-11-3f4.pdf)
- [Alliance for Water Efficiency, 2024 water loss update](https://allianceforwaterefficiency.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Water-Loss.pdf)
- [USGS Water Data API](https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/docs/)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/