Abstract
Reducing non-revenue water (NRW) within a water distribution network may lead to significant water savings. Most existing literature tend to focus on the design and implementation aspects of NRW loss through better management of leaks, reservoir overflow, and water theft. In contrast, this paper examines the association between the various water pipe types and their respective impact on NRW loss in an emerging country. Malaysia is currently listed under emerging and developing economies category in the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook Database (October 2020). A correlation analysis is carried out using historical data obtained from the Malaysian water authority, covering fiscal years 2013 to 2017 (inclusive of both years). Further analysis is carried out by measuring the number of cases reported for two selected states in relation to the type of pipe materials used. Results show that there is a significant correlation between mild steel and polyethylene pipes to NRW loss. This study provides a better understanding of how water pipe types affect NRW loss, which is pertinent to developing best practices in the marketplace to manage NRW loss and protect water resources.
Highlights
The water development and supply sector’s economic sustainability are threatened by scarcity of freshwater around the world, and with ever rising demands straining the industry
Data collected on the volume of non-revenue water (NRW) losses per year and pipe lengths for this research were obtained from the Malaysian Water Industry Guide (MWIG) books published by the Malaysian Water Association, which contain and provide a wide range of water industry data and statistics in Malaysia
Given that mild steel pipes account for transporting large volumes of water before branching in a reticulation pipe system, one may assume that the total usage length contributing to NRW loss would be low
Summary
The water development and supply sector’s economic sustainability are threatened by scarcity of freshwater around the world, and with ever rising demands straining the industry. The role of water service providers has become crucial in ensuring that water is distributed efficiently, equably, and sustainably They face several challenges, high losses of water within the distribution networks. One of the causes of high NRW rates in developing countries is the lack of incentives to promote more efficient and sustainable water management [5]. Other incentives taken to tackle leakage problems and improve piping networks include include replacing replacing current current asbestos–cement asbestos–cement pipes materials with with better better networks pipes with with pipe pipe materials durability such as ductile iron, mild steel, and polyethylene [12]. Was recorded to be approximately 5929 million liters per day (MLD)
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