Water lost is money lost
Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is the difference between the amount of water a utility supplies to the distribution system and the amount of water billed. NRW is a waste of money, and water losses from leakage is a waste of the planet’s scarce drinking water resources.
Unfortunately, NRW levels are high in many cities around the globe. Huge volumes of clean water are lost through leaks and overflows or not accounted for due to metering inaccuracies at consumers and illegal connections (theft). In many parts of the world this results in far more water extraction than needed, and limited water resources are being over-exploited.
This is unsustainable, and the result is people suffering from water scarcity and unnecessarily high water prices. In the long run, high NRW levels pose a real threat to development, urbanisation and agriculture for many people.
Achieving sustainable water management should be the ambition of every utility company worldwide. For a modern utility, sustainability goes hand in hand with cost efficiency, and a strong focus on reducing NRW is needed.