| On Summer Davos, TaKaDu Shows The Connection Between Water Prices And The State Of Water Networks | miércoles, 21. septiembre 2011 |
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| TaKaDu, a World Economic Forum 2011 Technology Pioneer, Shows that Low Water Prices are Linked to Inefficient Water Distribution and Poor Water Efficiency Dalian, The People's Republic of China and Yehud, Israel (PRWEB) - As the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2011 ("Summer Davos") opens in the People's Republic of China, TaKaDu, a Water Infrastructure Monitoring pioneer, released research findings that show the connection between water prices and water loss rates. Water loss is a key metric that impacts the sustainability, conservation and efficiency of water networks. In some of the world's cities, water is priced lower than the costs to pump and transport it, let alone sustain its delivery infrastructure: the network of pipes, pumps, reservoirs and valves that brings water to our homes. In some places water is free. The question raised by TaKaDu's research was whether the price of water also affects water loss rates. Theoretically, water underpricing can lead to undervaluing of water and underinvesting in the water distribution network. Water pricing doesn't impact residential consumption alone. Globally, only about 10% of water is used residentially, while the remaining 90% is used for agriculture and industry, so water mispricing obviously affects the way all sectors use water. According to the World Bank, about 25%-30% of water supplied to urban water networks is lost before reaching its desired destination, the end user. Cities surveyed by TaKaDu have water loss rates of 4% to 62%. Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is typically attributed to insufficient maintenance and old infrastructure. Many Western-world water networks were built in the 20th century, but some networks have aged and now include elements aged 100 years or more, requiring constant maintenance. In general, policy makers in the Western world state that the water sector suffers from a growing infrastructure deficit. For instance, in the United States, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates a 5-year shortfall of $108.6 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure. TaKaDu's research, based on information from 41 urban water networks all over the world, found that higher water tariffs are associated with lower water loss and a more sustainable outcome. In most cities where the price of water is very high or very low, low and high NRW rates are observed respectively. This holds true across different countries and regions. Thus, when setting policy and water tariffs, policy makers should consider all possible implications of low pricing to avoid infrastructure deterioration. Regulatory tools such as on-going benchmarking of water utilities and incentives for improved performance can be used, as well as a tiered pricing model for domestic consumption. |
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