The Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER) carried out a non-revenue water (NRW) study in Malaysia and said that more than 1/3 of water treated at our plants is WASTED. National water loss averages were 36.6% in 2009 and 36.4% in 2010.
Water jetting out of a transmission main during pipe flushing/cleaning
In 2010, of the total revenue from water sector of close to RM4.1 billion (US$1.3bil), RM1.7 billion or nearly HALF of it is lost to NRW. The three top contributors to this loss are Selangor, Johor and Sabah:
In terms of VOLUME, the top five 'losers' are:
In Sabah, the last 3 years of record shows that we continue to leak out money to the drain at alarming rate:
(Source: AWER, Malaysia)- Selangor: RM598.9 million, estimated loss of revenue
Johor : RM200.9 million
Sabah : RM175.4 million
Kedah : RM140.9 million
Pahang : RM132.9 million
In terms of VOLUME, the top five 'losers' are:
- Selangor: 481mil m3
Pahang : 195mil m3
Sabah : 195mil m3
Kedah : 188mil m3
Johor : 161mil m3
In Sabah, the last 3 years of record shows that we continue to leak out money to the drain at alarming rate:
- 2008 - RM150.6 million
2009 - RM142.4 million
2010 - RM175.4 million
2011 - could well surpass Johor; RM200million. Wait & see!
Sabah's current largest and most economical Water Treatment Plant: Moyog WTP
Sabah's largest waterworks (WTP) located in Penampang is designed for production of 165 million liter (MLD) of water per day and at overload mode it can go up to 180 - 190 MLD.
If the estimates by AWER is taken at face value, i.e. 195 million m3 water loss in 2010, we are talking about 3 WTPs of this size. Solve 30% of our NRW volume and we DO NOT need to construct any dam in Kaiduan for the foreseeable future. By reducing NRW, we are tackling several tricky issues namely - avoid destruction of greenery in Kaiduan Penampang, avoid relocating people from their ancestral lands, and patch a hole in the treasurer's pocket.
It is pointless to keep building new Water Treatment Plants to increase production but at the same time loss half of the treated water along the transmission and distribution pipes.
The action plan I've learnt through my working life is as simple as this:
If the estimates by AWER is taken at face value, i.e. 195 million m3 water loss in 2010, we are talking about 3 WTPs of this size. Solve 30% of our NRW volume and we DO NOT need to construct any dam in Kaiduan for the foreseeable future. By reducing NRW, we are tackling several tricky issues namely - avoid destruction of greenery in Kaiduan Penampang, avoid relocating people from their ancestral lands, and patch a hole in the treasurer's pocket.
It is pointless to keep building new Water Treatment Plants to increase production but at the same time loss half of the treated water along the transmission and distribution pipes.
The action plan I've learnt through my working life is as simple as this:
- Set the NRW reduction target. A detailed one if needed be.
- Specify reasonable time frame. Speaking of which, 5 years is not reasonable at all!
- Identify areas of concern (the people, the facilities, the environment, etc)
- Prepare technical guidelines. Let the engineers work it out.
- Work out capital and operational expenditures. Who says engineers and accountants can't agree on figures!
- Check and analyse the plans. The accountants say 'audit', we say 'assess'.
- People's participation. Let the public know about it and provide avenue for feedback.
There is a popular Malay saying "CAKAP TIDAK SERUPA BIKIN" or easier said than done. Of course, addressing the NRW issue will never be an easy task. But if we don't start somewhere, when will we ever get to the finish line?
