Water warning

Thursday, 19 July 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka has an abundance of water, which makes many take the resource for granted, but a study done by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says that 150 million more people could be given pure water if leaks are plugged and water utility reforms are adopted in Asian countries. The ADB estimates that just by cutting the amount of lost water in half, 150 million people could be supplied with treated water.

ADB estimates that 29 billion cubic metres of water are lost each year in the region – enough to fill more than 11 million Olympic-sized swimming pools – causing Asia’s water utilities to lose more than $ 9 billion in revenue each year.

By examining eight of the best-performing water utilities in Asia, Good Practices in Urban Water Management concludes that a low rate of Unaccounted-For-Water (UFW) is critical for efficient service delivery. While current UFW levels in the region are as high as 60%, an UFW level of less than 20% is a realisable goal. In fact, it notes that Phnom Penh managed to bring its lost water rate down to just 6% in 2008.

Sri Lanka on the other hand has had systemic water management issues with wastage in Colombo alone hitting 31.3% according to the Finance Ministry. The percentage of non-revenue water is 25.1 per cent outside of the capital and the faulty pipe system has been blamed on many occasions. It is unsurprising that the total of such wastage can be calculated in the tens of thousands or even millions but the study also suggests several ways to tackle the issue.

The study identifies seven universal themes to serve as a model for replication by water utilities: corporatisation for better accountability; economic sustainability; unaccounted-for-water reduction; holistic approach to manage water resources including water supply and wastewater management; staff productivity; collaborative engagement amongst government, utilities and society; and inclusive approach to addressing the needs of the urban poor.

Asian water utilities need to show innovation to provide service to low-income households, the study says, noting that each of the eight water agencies studied provided some kind of subsidy for obtaining a water connection and, in deserving cases, for the use of water as well.

Advanced cities such as Singapore have managed its water resources well and while many may dismiss the study as being too optimistic and needing too many resources it may be pointed out that Phnom Penh, which is economically similar to Colombo, managed to reduce its wastage to just $ 6 four years ago.

The lack of will among the people and the delay among policymakers in understanding that water will become a scarce resource in the future could cost Sri Lanka dear. Better water management needs to become part of the overall development drive and recognised as a key part of the infrastructure paradigm. Small, effective and low cost but competent measures need to be put in place for the water wealth in this country to be managed. Whether one likes it or not, the rarer clean water becomes, the more precious it will be and crucial for the development of this country.