The spike in water demand by industries as well as domestic users has made it desirable for the governments to adopt advanced technological solutions for efficient water supply management. Over the past few years, the Southeast Asian countries have launched various projects to deploy advanced flow and pressure management systems, leak detection devices, and asset management systems. As a result, the region witnessed impressive growth rates on key parameters like bill collection efficiency, reduction in non-revenue water (NRW), water availability and quality, metering of connections and leakage control. However, there is still a long way for these countries to achieve complete efficiency in water management. Most of them still have double-digit NRW figures, along with intermittent supply, poor asset management, low tariffs, excessive groundwater withdrawal, deterioration of water quality, lack of capacity in water utilities, and environmental and pollution problems.

Southeast Asia Infrastructure reviews the recent water sector initiatives undertaken by some of the countries in the region…

Malaysia

The Malaysian government is planning to introduce a new national water policy bringing all stakeholders under one umbrella for better water security and governance. It has also sought solutions from technology experts to explore alternative sources of water such as use of atmospheric water. Additionally, in order to ensure sustainable water resource management, the government has also decided to establish a river basin authority in line with the integrated water resources management (IWRM).

The government has undertaken several regulatory and institutional initiatives to improve water supply. It has incorporated a water resource management strategy into its five-year development plans. It has also engaged the participation from private sector companies to supply bulk water, manage water treatment plants and distribution systems, reduce water losses, increase water production capacity, and introduce advanced technological tools at waterworks. So far, they have managed to play an active role in bringing about notable changes in the operation and management of water supply services. PBAPP, the private water operator in Penang, has invested in the rehabilitation of the existing pipeline system and the replacement of faulty meters. Water supply company Ranhill SAJ has successfully cut down NRW by one-third with the help of Primayer technology under a trial project. The use of a cloud-based data collection platform effectively monitors water network pressure, flow and leak location. The company is now aiming to reduce NRW to 5 per cent by 2025 in the state capital Johor. The introduction of technological solutions has improved billing efficiency, as well as enhanced the accuracy of consumption measurement and NRW analysis.

However, at present, the NRW component of Malaysia’s total water supply is 33-35 per cent whereas its yearly reduction rate is only about 0.2 per cent. The NRW figure for the country is thrice that of developed countries as estimated by the World Bank. Addressing the issue of unaccounted water is an expensive affair as the cost of bringing it down by 1 per cent is about RM 1 billion. The government has allocated RM 1.39 billion through the National NRW Reduction Programme 2018/2020 until 2020 to change and replace the pipes on a large scale. However, it is still insufficient for a nationwide pipe replacement programme.

The Philippines

Metro Manila, the national capital region of the Philippines, has successfully developed an effective and efficient privatisation model in the water and wastewater sector. In 1997, the government privatised the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System by auctioning two 25-year concession contracts through competitive bidding. The Manila Water Company (MWC) was selected to provide water and wastewater treatment and distribution and collection services for the east zone, while Maynilad Water Services (MWS) was chosen for the west zone. Both the concessionaires have been making substantial investments in improving and expanding their infrastructure facilities.

The MWS is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It has recently acquired a second mobile leak detection equipment to boost its leak repair drive. It had acquired the first equipment in 2010 which has examined over 830 km of primary lines and helped the company resolve more than 1,000 pipe leak incidents. The company has recovered about 183 million litres per day of water through the leak detection equipment. The new equipment will provide a boost to the NRW reduction campaign with the help of an acoustic sensor. The sensor enables audio and visual inspection inside pipes without shutting down water supply to customers.

Manila Water has undertaken several measures to close the demand-supply gap. It has increased the production in its Cardona water treatment plant in Rizal, rehabilitated existing deep wells and constructed new wells across the east zone. Further, the MWC has also efficiently reduced its systems loss or NRW. It managed to bring down NRW by 4.5 per cent to almost 7.5 per cent in June 2019. The improvement in NRW has helped the company meet water deficit as it translated to almost 70 mld of water. On the technology front, the company has installed i20 Water’s advanced pressure management solutions to lower energy consumption and save a significant amount of water through reduced leakage.

The two private companies have set an example for other countries by successfully implementing the technical solutions and achieving maximum efficiency in the water sector.

Singapore

Singapore has one of the most diverse water portfolios consisting of four national taps – surface water, recycled water, harvested rainwater and desalinated water. The Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore’s national water agency, has successfully developed a robust water supply network to provide piped water access to all residents. It has greatly reduced the dependence on diminished freshwater sources by developing alternative processes such as the production of NEWater (reclaimed wastewater), desalination and variable salinity. Apart from augmenting water availability through alternative resources, PUB has also played a vital role in solving inefficiency issues in the water supply network.

The recycled water, called NEWater, meets household as well as industrial needs in Singapore. The used water is treated using advanced treatment technologies through a combination of micro- and ultrafiltration followed by reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection. It makes sure the recycled water complies with the highest water quality standards. The Singapore government has always been a step ahead in making the best use of available resources through constant efforts towards technological upgradations. This technology was first launched in 2003 with the opening of the first two NEWater plants at Bedok and Kranji. Today, there are five NEWater plants which meet about 40 per cent of Singapore’s current water needs.

Singapore has an integrated water network management system that comprises a good quality network, active leakage controls, accurate metering practices, strict legislation on illegal siphoning and customer relationship management. The NRW component in Singapore’s water supply is only 5 per cent, among the lowest in the world. As a result, it has significantly low water consumption per capita of 145 litres per day.

Thailand

The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) and Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) are the two main water agencies responsible for the sourcing, production and distribution of piped water in Thailand. The MWA has implemented a real-time monitoring and management system to reduce water losses resulting from equipment damage and inaccurate water meters in Bangkok. It uses solutions such as pressure transmitters, magnetic flow meters and ultrasonic flow meters to enable data collection and leakage monitoring.the PWA, which serves provinces outside Bangkok, has also undertaken initiatives to improve operational efficiencies of the distribution network. It has planned to increase the volume of tap water by more than 475,000 cubic metres per day to serve more than 126,000 residents, which has been recently approved by the National Water Resource Committee. On the policy front, the Office of National Water Resources, Thailand (ONWR),  in the year 2019 approved the 20-year master water plan aimed at solving chronic drought, flood and wastewater problems. The plan aims to supply clean water to 75,032 villages by 2030, solve floods and droughts in 66 areas and construct over 541,000 small dams. These initiatives are expected to provide relief to the country which is currently facing a record drought.

In a major development, the Thailand government in January 2020 has approved formation of a water management command centre. The command centre has been sanctioned under Section 24 of the Water Act, 2018. The tasks of the command centre will broadly involve forecasting, public warning and communication, management and administration.

Conclusion

Rapid population growth and exploited water resources have largely encouraged the adoption of innovative technologies and the improvement of service delivery mechanisms in Southeast Asia. The water utilities have been employing advanced technology solutions such as real-time water quality monitoring, wireless sensor networks, and smart water grid systems. Nonetheless, water efficiency indicators such as NRW management, per capita water consumption, and reuse of treated wastewater have been low in most of the countries. Going forward, these poor performing countries can learn from and replicate the models developed by water utilities in Singapore, Manila and Penang, which have managed to reduce losses by engaging private companies and introducing advanced technologies.