The Non-Revenue Water (NRW) that has been produced but had been lost before reaching the consumer, stands at 25% island-wide but is markedly higher at 41% for the Colombo region, a water industry expert said.
S. A. Rasheed, Project Director, Greater Colombo Water and Wastewater Management improvement Program of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), said at a lecture in Colombo last week. “Our financial capacity has been constrained because of the tariff, while political pressure prevents us from revising it.”
Rasheed said so, delivering a lecture at a seminar organized by the Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka, to coincide with the World Water Day.
Speaking on the theme ‘Water Supply for Developing Colombo,’ he said, Colombo’s water infrastructure dates back to the 1800s.
“Infrastructure is well beyond its life span. There had been no proper investment. We are selling water at a low price. Revenue is not sufficient to renew the water supply. Luckily, we receive funds from the Asian Development Bank for improving the water sector infrastructure.”
Commenting on infrastructure, Rasheed said, “the Colombo water system is connected in an ad-hoc manner. We are unaware as to where the pipes are going. There is no proper way to manage it. If there is a water problem in one area, we suspect that there is a problem in other areas too. Some people are only provided with water during the night.”
Pointing to images of mangled piping beneath the surface, Rasheed said, “the complexity of the pipelines is so great, that on many occasions we can’t even put our arms through. Nobody has GIS data, nor the CMC or the CEB.” He said, “We are conducting GIS investigations, while sharing it with other institutions. We will create a web-based asset management system.”
Rasheed complained the lack of cooperation with other stakeholders. Rasheed said, “The Police won’t permit keeping sites open overnight.” Commenting on the consumer, Rasheed said, “With new connections, people welcome us, but during replacements, they feel we are disturbing them.” On the scale of the replacement, Rasheed said, “we look to replace 70% of the pipes, while 30% of the piping would remain the same.”
Commenting on energy, Rasheed said, “Colombo currently has 70 points where water is flowing into the city. We are selling water with a high energy cost.”
He added, “If you take Ambatale, the plant was created in 1960 and the pumps are beyond replacement as there are no spare parts.”
Pointing to future plans, Rasheed said, “we are going to divide Colombo into 75 elements. Managing losses in a sustainable way. Each zone would have between 1,000 to 3,000 connections, while each zone would have a single input. There would be a computerized system based in Maligawatte.”
Rasheed said of the current context, “the drought has had an impact in the flow of water. The CEB helps us by releasing the water upstream. I hope the Irrigation Department under the Climate Resilient Project, creates a sluice gate close to our treatment intake as an interim solution.”
Rasheed adding on the 41% NRW figure, said that “5% of the figure is because we also damage the system. We are digging the road in 40 or 50 places every day. As with a patient, there must be some blood loss during surgery.” Highlighting future plans, Rasheed said, “Water for Colombo from Dehiwela, would stay in Dehiwela and instead, coming from the Kotte water system.”
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