A third of treated water does not reach households, Parliament told

KUALA LUMPUR: More than one third of water treated at treatment plants do not reach households due to water loss along the way.

Four states were losing more than half of treated water due to non-revenue water (NRW).

Non-revenue water refers to water that had been produced and was lost before it reaches the customer.

"On a national level our NRW is quite high as it is at 37.2%. This means that more than one third of the water that is treated at treatment plants do not reach the homes of those who pay water bills," Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said during his wrap up speech on the National Water Services Commission (Amendment) Bill on Thursday (Oct 12).

"This is a huge burden for the country," he added.

Among the states, Johor and Penang had the lowest NRW at 26.3% each, followed by Selangor with reported drastic improvement by lowering NRW to 27.8%.

In May 2018, NRW in Selangor stood at 31.1%.

This was followed by Perak (30.3%), Melaka (33.2%), Negri Sembilan (35.1%), Labuan (36.8%), Terengganu (38.7%), Sarawak (46.1%) and Pahang (47.7%).

The four states which reported over 50% on NRW were Kedah (51.5%), Kelantan (53.7%), Sabah (55%) and Perlis (61.5%).

Although there were a lot of suggestions on how to save and collect water, Nik Nazmi said the problem was in relation to streamlining water tariffs.

"We must allow for the streamlining of water tariffs. Can you imagine, I am 41 years old but there is a state which has not increased its water tariff for 40 years despite rising cost of materials," he said.

He said the previous government had allowed four water tariff hikes for commercial and industry users.

"We are preparing a paper for a tariff setting mechanism to allow operators (for tariff restructuring).

"I accept all the requests from water operators from ruling government and opposition states who are asking for a new structure because they cannot cope with the present structure," he said.

Citing Selangor and Penang as an example where those in the B40 group continue to enjoy free water or discounted rates.

He said this is a form of targeted subsidies given after a restructuring exercise.

Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi acknowledged that Penang relies on Kedah’s Sungai Muda for almost all of its water needs.

He also welcomed initiatives for the state to source water from Perak.

"There are studies on a new water migration scheme from Sungai Perak (to cater to) northern Perak and Penang, and the feasibility of sourcing water supply from Sungai Perai and desalination of sea water," he said adding that water supply were under the jurisdiction of the state governments.

The amendment Bill was passed after it was tabled for the second and third reading on Thursday.