Other water utilities apparently waste as much. But the problem at West Virginia-American is getting worse, and it’s going to cost ratepayers one way or another — on top of the huge rate hike that the utility is already pushing for.

In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, known leaks gushed 1.9 billion gallons of treated and pumped water, or nearly 59 percent more than in 2005, according to company records.

Another 4.2 billion gallons couldn’t be accounted for, about 23 percent more than in 2005. Some of it was probably lost in undiscovered leaks, some likely failed to register on inaccurate meters.

In all, the water lost for unknown reasons in 2006 equaled 22.48 percent of all the water that West Virginia-American treated and pumped, at ratepayers’ expense. When the water lost in known leaks is added, the utility wasted 32.84 percent.

“The situation is getting out of hand,” said Tony Sade of the state Public Service Commission’s Consumer Advocate Division. “It’s a major problem.”

West Virginia-American officials blame the lost water on old, inferior pipes, many of them inherited in takeovers of smaller water systems.

“Our infrastructure is getting older,” said Wayne Morgan, the company’s president. “We have a lot of small-diameter mains that need to be repaired, and we’ve acquired a lot of troubled systems.”

Last year, West Virginia-American submitted a plan with the PSC promising a series of measures to stanch the lost water. Among other things, it’s replacing small-diameter mains; undertaking water-loss training and leak surveys and leak checks in rights of way and stream crossings; and installing leak-monitoring devices throughout its network.

This year, it will start work on a comprehensive study of its water-loss problem and report back to the commission.

“The study will look at our system, the age of the mains,” said Michael Miller, West Virginia-American’s manager for rates and regulation. “All these factors will be very clearly defined so that going forward we will clearly know what the issues are, what it will take to make a difference and exactly what that will cost.”

West Virginia-American agreed to carry out the study as part of a rate-hike settlement reached last month with PSC staff specialists, the Consumer Advocate Division, the Kanawha County Commission and city of Charleston, among other parties, paving the way for a 14.9 percent increase in water bills. (The settlement still requires final approval by the PSC.)

Even without the study, however, West Virginia-American officials say they know that a definitive, systemwide construction project would cost more than ratepayers would stomach.

“We can’t go in and replace all that,” Morgan said. “It would put a burden on our customers, so we try to prioritize,” repairing the system piecemeal but systematically.

West Virginia-American has already been spending heavily, both on upgrades as well as acquisitions. It says it allotted $107.6 million over the past five years for infrastructure improvements. And over the past 12 years, it has bought up 13 smaller water systems.

Neither the improvements nor the acquisitions have seemed to help, said Sade.

“It’s ironic that this escalation in losses coincides with the advent of the regional system,” he said. “It [West Virginia-American] says the lost water is caused because the infrastructure isn’t maintained, and it’s sunk a lot of money into its infrastructure.”

Not only are some of the smaller systems less efficient, but now West Virginia-American’s Charleston facility is delivering water over longer distances, Sade said.

“It’s pumping out farther afield than used to be the case, as far as Boone County,” he said, “instead of [relying on] a series of small, individual, discrete systems.”

Some of the acquired systems lost astonishing amounts of water.

The Van system, whose service area is now fed from Charleston, was losing 53 percent of its water before its acquisition by West Virginia-American, according to company records. Mossy’s loss rate was 52.2 percent, Ansted’s 47 percent and Pinch’s 29 percent.

In comparison, West Virginia-American’s loss rate is more understandable, said Morgan.

“We’re not saying 20 percent is acceptable, but it is in line with other utilities in the state.”

It’s also in line with other utilities nationwide, said Afamia Elnakat, a water industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, a global market research firm with U.S. headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.

“This type of water loss is typical for water utilities across the country,” Elnakat said in an e-mail response to questions. “Aged infrastructure is a top priority for many municipalities. ... [But] because of lack of funding, usually ‘rehabbing’ aged infrastructure takes a backseat unless a pipe explodes and makes the evening news.”

Typically, the losses result from water seeping underground or evaporating, Elnakat said.

“Depending on the loss, utilities can have some sort of way to reclaim the water,” she said. “However, for that you would assume that the utility knows where the loss is occurring, which is seldom the case. After all, most water loss occurs in pipes underground.”

Miller, West Virginia-American’s rate specialist, wouldn’t speculate on how much a definitive repair project might cost.

The tap-water industry trade group American Water Works Association estimates utilities will need to spend $250 billion nationwide over the next 10 to 20 years to replace existing pipe.

“There’s a big bill coming due,” said spokesman Greg Kail.

Treating and pumping water that no one uses is only adding to that bill, he said.

“When a utility doesn’t collect the revenue for water that it is treating, that can impact how much money they have to invest back in the system,” Kail said.

Right now, it’s actually cheaper for West Virginia-American to waste a third of its water than it would be to repair the system comprehensively, Miller said.

The utility spends 28.9 cents per thousand gallons on treating and pumping. Therefore, it spent about $1.2 million on unaccounted-for water in 2006.

That kind of spending won’t be a bargain forever, Miller said.

“There’s a ‘breakover’ point,” he said. “That’s when it becomes more costly not to do something.”

To contact staff writer Joe Morris, use e-mail or call 348-5179.