By Brenda Kayo:
Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has said it managed to preserve two million litres of water valued at K400 million in 2023.
The board said the water would otherwise have been lost in non-revenue water from leaked pipes, theft, and illegal connections.
LWB Chief Executive Officer Silli Mbewe disclosed this on Wednesday during the 10th Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) between water boards and the Japan International Cooperation (Jica).
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Mbewe said the reduction reflects a two-percentage point drop in non-revenue water to 38 percent last year.
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“We have made significant strides. It is a two-percentage point movement, but it is quite significant in as far as the war against the non-revenue water because when we quantify the two percent that translates into the saving of the two million litres,” Mbewe said.
He added that through the Strengthening Capacity of Non-Revenue Water Reduction (LiSCap) project, water boards are sustaining interventions to reduce non-revenue water to 28 percent.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Elias Chimulambe commended the project which is supported by Jica and urged the water boards to make use of it.
“We are having challenges in terms of high levels of revenue, so this project which is being implemented by LWB is a milestone to learn from so that we should reduce non-revenue water. We have already seen successes from this project, so we want to replicate to other water boards to reduce more non-revenue water,” Chimulambe said.
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Jica Chief Representative Kazuhiro Tambara said the LiSCap project has reduced non-revenue water significantly.
