The implications of non-revenue water on the utility performance, a case study of National Water and Sewerage Corporation in five districts of Uganda

Abstract

The study focused on investigating the implications of Non-Revenue Water on the performance of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC). A Panel data fixed-effects regression model was selected for the analysis of the effect of water infrastructure and management characteristics of the utility on Non-Revenue Water (NRW) experienced by NWSC in Uganda from a panel dataset across five districts (Kampala, Entebbe, Jinja, Masaka and Tororo) served by NWSC from the year 2000 to 2019. The findings indicated a significant positive effect of Network length and Connection density on Non-Revenue Water; a significant negative effect of number of reported pipe failures/leakages on NRW (Non-Revenue Water per connection per day) and the difference between total operating revenue and total operation and maintenance costs per m3 of water sold on NRW (Non-Revenue Water per connection per day). This study concluded that larger networks have more probability for water loss to occur, and the high connection density means that there is a high risk of commercial losses caused by data handling errors, illegal connections, and theft. The study therefore recommended that NWSC should continue to closely monitor client connections and NWSC billing systems with improvements to the utility‘s infrastructure renewal program to reduce risks of commercial losses