Why is it still so hard to cut water losses? Air Selangor points to old pipes - Sinardaily - 26/05 10:47 am
AT A GLANCEStructural challenge: Non-revenue water (NRW) remains a major issue in Malaysia, with the government missing its 31 per cent reduction target for 2025 due to funding constraints and ageing infrastructure.Physical leaks: Air Selangor identifies underground leaks as its toughest obstacle, managing a vast 31,817km network and detecting over 200,000 leaks annually.Colonial-era pipes: Around 5,000km of brittle asbestos cement pipessome dating back to 1915are still in use, particularly across Kuala Lumpur.High cost of renewal: Replacing old pipes costs Air Selangor nearly RM480 million annually for 300km of alignment, with industry estimates showing a 1 per cent NRW reduction requires up to RM1 billion.Why Cutting NRW Gets Harder Leaks Remain the Toughest Problem Old Pipes Still Holding the System Back Technology and Replacement CostsKUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has spent decades trying to reduce non-revenue water, or NRW, by chasing lower percentages and tighter targets.But once NRW comes down, the losses that remain are often the hardest to eliminate.This is because they are buried in ageing infrastructure: hidden leaks beneath roads, deteriorating pipes, recurring bursts and a repair burden that grows costlier with every kilometre of old network left underground.The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has long tracked NRW as a core industry indicator, and past commission data shows the issue remains a nationwide structural challenge rather than one confined to a few underperforming operators.The difficulty of further reductions is also reflected in the governments missed targets
|
