Leaking pipes? A litre or two siphoned under the noses of water company? What could be the harm? Well, stolen and wasted water, termed ‘non-revenue water’ by the industry, accounts for RM1.6 billion in losses a year throughout the country.
Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER) president S Piarapakaran said the loss of treated water before it reaches consumers due to theft or malfunctioning infrastructure must be addressed through an action plan.
He said the recommendations included the implementation of a proper energy efficiency policy by identifying critical, sub-critical and non-critical areas in every state.
“In 2012, the NRW in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya was 33.1 per cent of the 4,300 million litres a day (MLD) of treated water for consumers.
“Because of increased leakage, 1,423.3 MLD were wasted and only 2,876.7 MLD reached the consumers,” Bernama reports him as saying.
Piarapakaran said the amount of NRW was likely higher during water rationing due to the existence of different water pressure zones.
“An NRW action plan should be implemented to curb the continuous loss of treated water,” he said.
See Also: Pahang-Selangor water tunnel to start operating soon; Putrajaya: two weeks before we declare a water emergency
