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Estimates for planning. Apparent losses such as meter under-registration and billing errors are the recoverable share of this total.
Non-revenue water, often shortened to NRW, is the difference between the water a utility puts into its distribution system and the water it actually bills customers for. If a system supplies 1,000 units of water but only bills for 850, the other 150 is non-revenue water. It is water the utility paid to treat and pump, but earned nothing on.
Non-revenue water is not a single problem. Some of it is water physically lost through leaks and main breaks, and some of it is water that was delivered but never billed, because a meter under-registered, a bill was wrong, or use went unmetered.
Non-revenue water falls into a few categories, and they are not fixed the same way:
The split matters because meter under-registration and billing errors are apparent losses, and apparent losses are recoverable revenue. A meter that under-registers is delivering water the utility could bill for with an accurate read.
Every unit of non-revenue water is treated, pumped water that returned nothing. Real losses waste the cost of producing the water. Apparent losses are worse in one sense, because they are revenue the utility earned but never collected.
Reducing the apparent-loss share is largely a metering and billing accuracy problem, which is where connected water utility management software helps, by keeping meter reads, consumption, and billing aligned so that water delivered is water billed. The first step is measuring the gap, which is what this calculator does.
The calculator compares the water you supply with the water you bill, then applies your rate to estimate the revenue lost.
Not sure how much water you are losing?
Use figures from your annual production and billing records:
If billed water is close to supplied water, your non-revenue water is low. A wide gap points to leaks, meter problems, or billing errors worth investigating.
Two mistakes are common. The first is comparing supply and billing figures from different periods, which distorts the gap. Use the same year for both. The second is treating all non-revenue water as leaks, when a large share is often apparent loss from under-registering meters and billing errors, which is the recoverable part.
There is no single target that fits every utility. What counts as good depends on the age of the system, its size, and its condition. The useful approach is to measure your own figure, track it over time, and work to bring it down, rather than compare against a fixed number.
Reduce real losses with leak detection and faster repair, and reduce apparent losses by replacing under-registering meters and correcting billing errors. Because apparent losses are recoverable revenue, meter and billing accuracy often give the fastest return.
Real losses are water physically lost through leaks and breaks. Apparent losses are water that was delivered but not billed, from meter under-registration, data errors, or theft. Real losses waste production cost, while apparent losses are lost revenue.
These related calculators cover the rest of a water system:
To see how one platform keeps meter reads, consumption, and billing aligned so that water delivered is water billed, explore SMART360 water utility management software.
Bynry Inc.
8 The Green STE.R,
Dover, Kent,
Delaware 19901
+1 732-630-0285
Bynry Inc.
Serene Tower, Pakharbaug
Pune, Maharashtra 411021
+91 93252-51217
