Successful reduction of non-revenue water (NRW)

Abstract

Sino French Water, affiliated company of Suez Environnement, invests and establishes joint ventures (JVs) with local water companies in China to improve their managerial and operational efficiencies. There are more than 26 Sino French JVs spread all over China. The success story of NRW reduction from 35 to 5% in Tanzhou took 18 years. This success is largely due to Suez Environnement global approach and expertise on NRW management. The successful actions performed in Tanzhou can be divided into five phases and include both managerial and technical changes in the Company. (1) One of the first actions taken in 1995 was the replacement of customer meters that were previously randomly chosen. The replacement of these meters by accredited meter suppliers and standardizing supplier selection lead to drop in NRW of 22% in two years. (2) From the success of the first two years, a set of management procedures and standardizations were put in place in 1997. Additional income from accurate metering allows investing in a network rehabilitation, which brought the NRW further down to 13% by 2002. (3) Between 2002 and 2005 the NRW actually went up. Investigations in the production meter and the establishment of a leak detection and valve maintenance team finally helped stabilize the NRW situation at around 12.5% by 2005. (4) Applying Aqua Circle tool since 2007 allowed Tanzhou to further understand NRW and how other indicators, besides percentage, were critical. (5) Between 2007 and 2013, a combination of advance technologies (DMAs, PMAs, advance acoustic loggers, Helium gas) and management systems (GIS, hydraulic model) has driven Tanzhou to an extremely low, yet sustainable NRW of 4%. Tanzhou experience is a valuable example of NRW reduction and asset management for Sino French Water and Suez Environnement. Reducing and maintaining a low NRW is a constant challenge and never-ending activity.