COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is implementing a project to reduce – what is called – Non Revenue Water (NRW) through a Japanese SME with the assistance of the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA), officials said.
The JICA has entered into an agreement with Tesco Asia Co. Ltd for the implementation of a verification survey to introduce its technologies for the reduction of NRW in Sri Lanka, a senior official of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) told Business Times.
All potable water systems have some amount of water that is produced but not sold; this is commonly referred to as “Non-Revenue Water” (NRW).
This comprises both real and apparent losses. Real losses consist of volumes of water lost through all types of leaks, bursts and overflows of mains, service connections, and reservoirs. Apparent losses are those due to unauthorised consumption, illegal taps, and meter reading and billing errors.
By reducing real losses a utility can lower the overall production costs for water and help preserve high levels of water quality. By reducing apparent losses, the utility can increase billing revenue without raising rates.
The NRW percentage island-wide is about 33 per cent. “At the moment, we have nine ongoing projects in the water sector. We have given emphasis on the NRW reduction in all JICA funded projects. The activities under this project are concentrated only on the NRW reduction, as the NRW is one of the priority problems to be solved in the sector,” said Kiyoshi Amada, Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka office.
