THE MANAGER‘S NON-REVENUE WATER HANDBOOK FOR AFRICA A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING WATER LOSSES

 

One of the major challenges facing water utilities in the developing world is the high level of water losses—from physical losses (leakage), theft of water from the system, or because water users are not being properly billed. This difference between the amount of water put into the distribution system and the amount of water billed to consumers is known as ―Non Revenue Water‖ (NRW). This has a serious effect on the financial viability of water utilities through lost revenue, lost water resources, and increased operational costs, reducing their capacity to fund necessary expansions of service, especially for the poor.

 

For too long NRW management has been given low priority by government officials, utility managers, donors and the water sector in general. However, over the last decade perceptions have changed rapidly, particularly in the developed world. The International Water Association (IWA) has acknowledged this trend by forming the Water Loss Task Force (WLTF), which over the last 8 years has played a major role in developing, standardizing and disseminating methodologies for addressing NRW.

 

It is now widely acknowledged that NRW is a key indicator of a utility‘s operational and financial performance. A high level of NRW normally indicates a water utility that lacks good governance, autonomy, accountability, and the technical and managerial skills necessary to provide a reliable service.

 

The African Water Association (AfWA) has identified NRW as a priority issue within its capacity building programs, delivering technical sessions to raise the awareness of African water utilities to NRW. Challenges include:

Recently established in Kampala, Uganda, AfWA‘s African Water Academy is dedicated to leadership development and change management, specializing in capacity building for senior utility managers. The Water Operators‘ Partnership Africa Program (WOP Africa) is also enhancing utility to utility capacity building. These are two major instruments that AfWA will be using to deliver high level management and technical training to address NRW.

 

The Manager’s Non-Revenue Water Handbook for Africa: A Guide to Understanding Water Losses—is a timely publication. Written in a clear style and in user-friendly language the Manual‘s structure gives managers and technical staff the opportunity to understand the factors that influence NRW and the solutions for managing it. Drawing on case study examples and key messages from African utilities the manual aims to offer practical solutions to the NRW challenges, so that in future utility managers will be in a better position to tackle the challenges associated with this issue.