Why Is Non-revenue Water So High in So Many Cities?

Abstract

The efficient management of water resources is a growing necessity. Paradoxically, although people are aware of this need, non-revenue water is excessive in many cities in the world. Non-revenue water data indicate that there is much room for improvement in water resource management in cities and they also suggest a lack of motivation to solve the problem in the short-term. This paper investigates the reasons why non-revenue water is so high in many cities around the world. The lack of incentives for management units, the defence of private interests due to corruption, the lack of awareness of citizens-users of the water service and the lack of political willingness are the main causes.

Notes

1. Leakages in public water supply systems remain significant in many European countries (European Environment Agency, 2009, p. 47).

2. IBNET supplies information mainly from developing countries. In London, total leakages amount to 27% (OFWAT, 2009). In the region of Madrid, unaccounted for water is 19% (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2009). According to the information in Global Water Intelligence, in Berlin water losses are 2% (data supplied by the company); and in the Lazio region in Italy, the capital of which is Rome, water losses amount to 55% (L'Istituto Nazionale di Statistica).

3. One study that breaks this barrier is Davis (2004), in which interviewing directly involved estimating that 41% of the customers interviewed admitted that they had made payments within the past six months for reasons such as falsifying water bills and the provision or ignoring of illegal service connections. Additionally, 73% of the water unit staff interviewed said that bribes in exchange for lower meter readings happened ‘about half the time’ or ‘virtually all the time’ in their institutions.

4. On some occasions, privatization has been considered a way to fight public corruption. However, the collaboration of the private sector has created several cases of a new form of corruption, being therefore far from serving in many cases as a means to combat it. In the African case, for instance, the decentralization and private participation in the sector has even fostered greater corruption, also involving international and national donors (Plummer & Cross, 2007).

5. However, the fact that the investment involved in building and renovating networks is made through the public budget can deter water utilities from intervening to reduce water losses. If the water utilities do not pay for the renovation of the network, they will not maintain or conserve it conscientiously, regardless of whether it is privately or publicly run.