KUALA LUMPUR: Last year, Perlis recorded the country’s highest percentage of non-revenue water (NRW), or the proportion of treated water that is lost before it reaches consumers, at 60.7 per cent, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili said Perlis was followed by Kedah, Kelantan and Pahang, all which registered close to 50 per cent NRW.
The states which recorded the lowest percentage of NRW were Malacca, Penang and Johor.
"As you can see, we have a major task ahead of us (to reduce NRW), which is why the government has undertaken a new approach and made NRW a national issue.
"The ministry will be spending RM531 million for the NRW programme in six states, beginning this year," he said in reference to Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan.
Maximus said this when asked on the latest statistics for NRW in each state by Senator Chia Song Cheng.
On whether the ministry is setting key performance indicators (KPI) for each state to reduce NRW before allowing them to review their water tariffs, Maximus said revisions are inevitable – but he stressed that low-income group consumers would be protected from raised tariffs by an existing mechanism.
Maximus earlier said that the government had set a 25 per cent NRW reduction target by 2020.
He said the causes of NRW are: water leakage from worn-out pipes, water theft and metres inaccurately recording water usage.