Reducing non-revenue water to improve pipe borne water supply in Panadura-Horana region

Abstract

Panadura -Horan water supply scheme is the second oldest water supply system in Sri Lanka and have many issues with old deteriorating pipes. Amongst them, Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is the most affecting problem as it shows a high value of 32%. In view of various reasons such as lack of resources, lack of knowledge and insufficient time etc., no proper management system had been introduced at Panadura -Horan water supply scheme to reduce NRW so far. Without proper NRW management the system is not able to sustain its services or cover all population with available water source. The aim of the research is to propose strategies that would help to minimize the NRW quantities and improve pipe borne water supply in Panadura - Horana region. A sub zone from Panadura Region was selected for the purpose of this study, where the existing issues in the water supply system are identified and methodologies are proposed in reducing NRW component to a more manageable level. Under field study, initially the main causes of NRW are identified while paying more attention to the most significant causes. After studying various strategies part to whole method was selected as the most appropriate strategy to reduce NRW in the selected sub-zone. Further, this study on water loss management, shows that fixing of responsibility with proper directions and commitment interest with awareness of all staff members top to bottom is important to ensure positive results and to provide reliable and customer satisfactory service. The methods adopted for water loss management are different from country to country city to city and place to place depending on factors such as the condition of infrastructure, maintenance practices, resource availability and institutional framework etc. The strategies developed for water loss management for Panadura – Horana region could be applied in similar systems of developing countries.