What is District metered area (DMA)?
A district metered area, or DMA, is a discrete zone of a water distribution network whose inflows and outflows are metered, so that water use and losses within it can be measured. By comparing what enters the district with what customers use, especially at night, utilities can localize leakage to a manageable area.
What it is
A DMA is created by closing boundary valves and installing meters on the remaining feeds. The result is a zone, often a few thousand connections, where every liter in and out is measured.
The key analysis is minimum night flow. In the early hours, legitimate use is at its lowest, so a rising night flow usually means a new leak. Comparing night flow over time and across districts shows where to send leak detection crews.
DMAs are often combined with pressure management, since lower and steadier pressure reduces both leakage and bursts.
Where it is used
Water utilities use DMAs across their networks. The same approach applies inside large private networks such as campuses, airports, military bases, industrial parks and dairy sites, where internal zones can be metered.
How it is measured
DMA analysis depends on reliable flow data and a clear boundary.
- Inflow and outflow meters at each boundary
- Minimum night flow per district
- Customer consumption from billing or AMI
- Pressure at a representative point
How Aqueduct helps
Aqueduct baselines night flow per district and flags the district where loss rises, alongside your SCADA and AMI.
- aQ WaterGuard night flow baselines per district, refreshed every 60 seconds
- Water balance per district combining inflow meters and AMI reads
- Alerts that name the district and the size of the change
- Verification at the meter after a repair, so the saving is measured