STEMMING THE TIDE IN WATER LOSS

WATER plays a crucial role in the creation and sustenance of life on Earth – the lifeblood of our planet. It hydrates all living things, regulates the climate and, since the 18th century, has been a vital component in various industrial processes, from manufacturing to energy production.

With average rainfall of 2,000mm to 2,500mm per year, Malaysia is blessed with an abundance of water. That perception has given us a skewed confidence in our water’s security, as Malaysians consume more water than what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends, which is just 160 litres per capita a day (LCD).

On average, domestic water consumption in 2023 in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya hit 241 LCD, as reported in the Domestic Water Consumption report by National Water Services Commission (SPAN).

This should be compared with other countries that consume much less: Singapore consumes 151 LCD, Thailand uses 193 LCD and a large country like China only takes in 179 LCD (Source: Air Selangor Water Handbook).

The United Nations even noted that the country’s availability of piped water in households is almost universal at 95.9% in 2019, with rural areas being at 84.7% as compared to 98.7% in urban areas.

In fact, the average domestic water consumption in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya reached 241 litres per capita per day (LCD) in 2023, as reported in the Domestic Water Consumption report by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).

But as can be seen in recent years, availability of potable water has become an issue, with drought and climate change causing river levels to drop in parts of Peninsular Malaysia.

Or the cases of river contamination that result in state-wide water cuts, thanks to unscrupulous industrial practices.

Some researchers foresee water security may become an issue in the near future as the population grows larger and more urbanised; as industrialisation and irrigated agriculture
expand in size to accommodate the population boom.

Lost run-offs

One of the many problems that water services provider companies in developing countries face is non-revenue water (NRW), which is treated water that is “lost” before it reaches consumers.

The reasons could be as innocent as a pipe leak or pipe burst that was not reported to the nefarious, such as illegal piping and modifying or connecting water meters illegally.

Early this year (Jan 8) The Star reported that SPAN chairman Charles Santiago declared that NRW has to be resolved and proposed a RM10bil budget allocated to the water sector each year to protect the sources and upgrade infrastructure for the next three to four years.

The article indicated that NRW stood at 37.2% at the national level, with Johor and Penang having the lowest at 26.3% each, followed by Selangor at 27.8%.

As the largest water services provider in Malaysia, Air Selangor is responsible for the abstraction, treatment and distribution of treated water to 9.62 million consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

In conjunction with World Water Loss Day that takes place on Dec 4 every year, the water utility company stated that it has undertaken many initiatives to reduce NRW.

Beyond operational, the company believes that providing clean and safe treated water is priceless to its consumers and is committed to ensuring that the treated water in the system can be distributed without wastage.

Sustainable NRW reduction

Reducing NRW remains a top priority for Air Selangor despite the many challenges faced.

This is to ensure that all produced water reaches customers and is billed accurately. NRW has negative impacts on the customers and the businesses.

These losses can result from various factors such as leaks, pipe bursts, reservoir overflows (physical loss), meter inaccuracies, and water theft (commercial loss).

To address that, Air Selangor implemented NRW reduction in two separate categories: the Physical Loss Reduction strategies and the Commercial Loss Reduction.

Strategic NRW reduction programmes to reduce physical loss includes Active Leakage Control, District Metering Zones, technological interventions, pressure management, and pipe replacement.

To improve billing accuracy and address illegal tapping as part of the Commercial NRW Reduction Programme, Air Selangor will also replace degraded or malfunctioning consumer water meters.

This initiative is essential for ensuring accurate billing, enhancing customer satisfaction, and supporting better water management.

The effectiveness of these initiatives has led to the achievement of an average reduction of about 1% from 2017-2023, which translates to significant daily water savings of approximately 33 million litres per day, benefiting around 125,000 consumers daily.

Pipe replacement programme

Air Selangor has planned to continue enhancing existing infrastructure to reduce NRW from leakages in ageing pipelines.

This is distinct from its investments to ensure the stability and consistency of its water supply service levels.

These programmes are ongoing and will include doubling pipe replacement efforts, from 150km a year to 300km a year starting from 2024; and 400km from 2034 onwards.

Significant results

As of 2023, Air Selangor has managed to achieve the NRW level of 27.8%. This achievement has surpassed SPAN’s NRW matching grant target of 28.5%.

Matching grants were allocated by the federal government, whereby a sum of RM1.371bil is apportioned to help water operators overcome the NRW issue more effectively and sustainably.

It has also achieved a pipe burst Index of 4.18 bursts per 100km per year of pipeline, an improvement from 5.35 bursts per 100km per year recorded in 2022.

Community involvement

The significant investments and global best practices have extended to community involvement, such as the Leak Reporting Campaign, where Air Selangor had repaired over 34,808 leaks from January to October 2024.

This campaign is open to the public with a T’nG e-Wallet credit incentive to encourage active and continuous participation from customers to report leakages via the Air Selangor mobile app.

This campaign aids the company in its commitment towards ensuring sustainable and efficient water distribution management for its customers.

Customers can easily report pipe leaks, burst pipes, meter leaks, or illegal pipe installations through the Air Selangor mobile app, which can be downloaded from either Apple App Store or Google Play.

They can also visit Air Selangor’s website at www.airselangor.com/reportleakscampaign/ for more information.

Article Published in The Star on 6 December 2024.