SOLOMON Water and Japan International Co‐operation Agency (JICA) recently celebrated the completion of Non‐Revenue Water (NRW) project that has been running for three years and 8 months.
The project, which included a dispatch of technical experts from Japan, in‐Japan trainings of Solomon Water staff members and procurement of water meters and other equipment, was aimed at reducing loss of water through leakage and theft by illegal connections.
Solomon Water currently loses around 60% of all water production and the project has had success in reducing this amount to about 30% in specific areas where it has been implemented.
Ongoing monitoring is needed though to stop customers connecting to the system illegally.
“Those people who make illegal connections to the water system are stealing money from the good people that pay for their water, and are a major cause in the water tariff being as high as it is,” says Solomon Water General Manager, Ian Gooden.
Non‐Revenue water reduction will continue in Solomon Water for many years to come using the techniques and equipment provided by JICA.
“This project has been executed under an excellent collaboration between JICA and Solomon Water in the aid coordination with DFAT for the benefit of all people of the Solomon Islands” said JICA in Assistant Representative Shitau Miura.
Solomon Water expressed their extreme gratitude to the people of Japan and Australia for their co‐operation in the NRW project.
