The city of Seremban in Malaysia experienced more than 40 % water loss in its distribution system. A Non-Revenue Water master plan was developed and implemented in an area with 60,000 connections – setting the way forward to make a permanent NRW reduction and securing a return on investment in just 26 months.

Major investments in the water utility were needed in order to be able to supply the growing population in the city. Every drop saved was sold to houses without water. The utility had not previously focused on maintenance. Leakages were visible in the streets and reservoirs were overflowing in the jungle. Meters were broken due to the fact that nobody did anything or visited the sites regularly.

With the help from Danish experts at EnviDan, NRW was reduced from 39 % to 20 % in 18 months. After 26 months the implementation investment was paid back.

Futhermore, water savings of 650,000 m3 a month were achieved, equivalent to the supply of another 30,000 households. Working with the distribution network and the actions in the NRW masterplan can improve security of supply.

The plan included installation of an NRW management system, a leakage monitoring & repair system, targeted meter replacement programme, detection and repair of over 3,000 leaks, a geographical information system, hydraulic modelling, installation of 55 District Metering Areas and 20 pressure control zones.