30% of Oman’s potable water is lost and unaccounted for, says PAEW

Muscat: More than 30 per cent of potable water is not accounted for in Oman, official statistics from the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) showed.
“Some of this water is lost through leaks and overflows in reservoirs and the rest is not recorded properly, either due to fraud or theft, metering or billing errors, or because of a lack of metering,” PAEW said in its annual report for 2015.
The PAEW report also stated that Sharqiyah South tops the chart, with 47 per cent if water being unaccounted for and is followed by Muscat which reported a 40 per cent loss.
Altogether, 103.34 million cubic metres of water was unaccounted for in 2015 up from 98.51 million cubic metres in 2014.
“Although, no water network can avoid losing some water as it passes from source to customer, it would not be economical to do so, it is vital that efficient management of the system is carried out so that these losses are known and controlled to ensure that they stay at an appropriate level that is both technically and operationally manageable, given the infrastructure that is in place,” the PAEW explained.
“This is particularly so in Oman, where the cost of water production is high (due to the heavy reliance on desalination), there is a need to transport water over long distances and groundwater is a scarce resource. Reducing losses to an economic level will also save resources—including fuel for desalination—and money, reducing the need for new desalination capacity and subsidy in the long term,” the it added.
The PAEW also said it will continue to focus on proper metering and invoicing for its customers, most of whom are served by their billing and collection agents, and will cooperate with the electricity distribution companies to introduce a new, modern billing system, which should help improve accuracy and control of all aspects of their business, as well as improve service to their customers. “We also continue to work on leak detection and repairs through our local operational teams,” it said in a recently released report.
Earlier this month, PAEW had urged its consumers to save water.
The #ICommit campaign conducted by PAEW was aimed at encouraging residents and nationals to save water due to the fact that Oman’s water resources are scarce and invaluable.
The campaign sought to reduce the consumption of water and give advice on how to efficiently use the resource.