Water loss management: a case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam has very high non-revenue water (NRW) of 91 million m3/year (about 40% of total production) while there is shortage in water supply in the city. Analysis of the causes and components of such high water losses is necessary to develop programmes for its reduction. This paper reviews the existing water supply and losses in the distribution systems, their components based on the field data and analyses it by calculating different water loss indicators. It was found that NRW is composed of 83% real losses and 17% apparent losses. Invisible leaks in the service pipes (due to ageing) is the major cause of water losses. There are no proper water auditing, distribution system maps or databases to quantify the water losses components accurately. The study showed that there is high potential for water saving in Ho Chi Minh city by implementing several short-term and long-term measures.