KUALA LUMPUR:Replacing old and obsolete pipes, especially of the asbestos cement-type, involving a distance of 150 kilometres under the Old Pipe Replacement Programme is one of the key performance indicators (KPI) set by Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) this year to reduce the rate of its non-revenue water (NRW).

Its chief executive officer, Suhaimi Kamaralzaman, said the company had allocated RM293 million with RM170 million of it being for the critical Old Pipe Replacement Programme and RM16 million for the replacement of old and damaged water meters.

Other KPI include having Air Selangor leak specialists and leak inspectors who must detect at least 78,000 cases of leaking pipes under the Active Leakage Control Programme,” he told a virtual press conference today.

Apart from that, Suhaimi said the KPI also involved the formation of 75 District Metering Zones (DMZ) through the District Metering Zone Formation Programme, the installation of another 1,780 sensors on the main pipe to detect pressure transient and leakage at an early stage, and the use of 3,000 permanent leak noise correlating loggers on reticulation pipes in 60 District Metering Zones

He said Air Selangor had managed to reduce the average NRW rate to 28.6 per cent last year from 29.7 per cent in 2019, which exceeded the target set by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

Suhaimi said Air Selangor was also committed to reducing the NRW rate to 25 per cent by 2025 and further to 15 per cent by 2049.

-- BERNAMA