Non-revenue water loss of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company (Abfa) is estimated at around 25% or 1.6 billion cubic meters per year, the company’s public relations manager said.
"Of the total annual waste, 13% is real losses [through leaks, also referred to as physical losses] and 12% is apparent losses [through theft or metering inaccuracies]," Ali Seyyedzadeh was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Real losses were around 30% in 2014, he said, and noted that Abfa has reduced it by 17% in the last seven years. Non-revenue water refers to water that has been produced and lost in different ways before it reaches consumers.
Abfa supplies close to 6.4 bcm of water to the national distribution network each year, of which massive 25% is wasted, he noted.
"The wastage rate in developed countries is 15%. There is no such thing as ‘zero wastage’ even in the most developed grids in the world," Seyyedzadeh said. As per the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2017-22), non-revenue water loss should decrease 0.5% a year.
According to the official, the goal of reducing water wastage cannot be accomplished unless 10,000 kilometers of the water grid is rehabilitated.
Pointing to Japan where the rate of non-revenue water is 7%, he said modern infrastructure has helped the Asian economic power to cut the rate to 3.4% in Tokyo.
Seyyedzadeh said more than 350 Iranians have undergone training in Japan in the past three years to preserve non-revenue water.
According to the senior official, management of dwindling water resources is more challenging in rural areas due to decentralized networks and lack of water meters.
On installing special equipment in public places and homes to reduce water consumption, Seyyedzadeh said because the devices are costly households show little to no interest and do not feel the need to have such gadgets as water tariffs are very low.
According to Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, raising water and power tariffs can play a major role in stabilizing the key sectors.
Although the Energy Ministry’s proposal to hike water and electricity tariffs was ratified in 2019, and prices of both have risen by at least 7%, the ministry is still lagging behind.
Ardakanian believes that such “marginal rise” cannot help the ministry launch new ventures in the long run. "Supplying people with quality potable water is a priority," he added, noting that 100% of urban population and 80% of rural areas have easy access to safe drinking water.”
