Water Leakage

Location: [ECE]

Interview with Mr. Bärlund

Mr. Kaj Bärlund is the Director of the Environment and Human Settlements Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE). He is a former minister of the environment of Finland.

Is fresh water a problem in European cities?	Kaj Bärlund: Yes, and it's a problem that won't go away! There is a real danger that water shortage might actually restrict the growth of cities.

What are the reasons behind this phenomenon?	Increasing urbanization, decreasing water-supply, due in particular to the depletion of groundwater resources, and the waste of water in general are among the most obvious reasons. Yet an even greater threat is the obsolescence of the water-supply system.

Isn't this system regularly maintained?	No, not even in the most developed countries, let alone in the countries in transition to a market economy. In most countries of the UN-ECE region the system of pipes to supply water is in a desperate state. In many cases the pipe systems date from before World War I and they haven't been upgraded since.

How big is the leakage?	On average between 40 and 60% of the water which is produced is lost before arriving at the tap. But in some cities the lost water amounts to 80% of production. To give you a concrete example, in Norway, which can be considered as a model in terms of environmental protection, the figures are clearly stunning. 3.9 million people are connected to the water distribution system. On average the total amount of water delivered by the waterworks nationwide is some 600 litres per day per person. But average consumption has been estimated at only 320 litres per day per person. This means that around 45% of the production is lost in the distribution network.

Where do these losses occur?	Mostly in the municipal supply system. In fact, sometimes the "best" thing that can happen is for a pipe to burst, because then the authorities are obliged to repair it. But mostly the leaks are "small" and can go undetected for many years. And even then there is no guarantee that they will be repaired.

What happens with this lost water?	It infiltrates the ground. Either it remains there creating large humid zones or in very many cases it infiltrates the sewerage system. In this case it implies an enormous economic cost to the communities. First, this water never reaches the tap; second, it increases the amount of water to be treated in waste-water plants; and, third, in some cases the treatment capacity has to be 50% higher than it should have been if there had been no leaks.

How much does this all cost?	We have tried to estimate the economic cost of these leakages for the whole of the ECE region, and our conservative estimate is around US$ 10 billion a year in terms of clean water wasted alone. But that is only one aspect of the economic costs of leaks. One has also to take into account the damage that these leaks do to the foundations of houses and other constructions. And this aspect is very difficult to estimate.

Do they affect human health?	Yes, definitely. What happens is that these leakages create large reservoirs of water full of bacteria. As long as the pressure is constant these bacteria should not infiltrate the pipe system. But as soon as the water pressure drops they are pumped into the pipe and directly into the taps. Their presence is not detected because such tests are carried out before the water leaves the pumping station, not afterwards.

Has it been noticed?	Yes, in many UN-ECE countries there has been a very clear increase in Escherichia coli in the water-supply.

So why are these leaks not repaired?	For a number of reasons. First of all, these repairs are costly and mainly to be paid by the municipalities, which in most countries of the region are facing serious financial difficulties. Furthermore, the effects of these repairs are not "visible". In fact, as long as the leaks remain small, the public at large is not aware that water is being wasted. And let's face it, even many householders ignore small leaks for a long period of time because it costs less to waste the water than to call a plumber. Another factor has appeared in several countries in the region, namely the privatization of the water-supply companies. In many cases these companies, which have fixed-term leases, have very little incentive to undertake any large-scale long-term investment in restoring the pipe system. I suppose that as long as they have no precise obligations to do so, very few of them are going to make these investments.

What is the scale of the problem?	In many cities of the UN-ECE region the entire water system would need to be rebuilt. But these are huge infrastructure works and would imply that most of the streets of these cities would have to be opened up. You also have to realize that the problem lies not only with the big cities themselves. The economic development of the surrounding areas is also compromised, because as cities take more water than they actually need, they are in effect taking it from their surrounding areas.

What can be done?	Unfortunately, these issues have not attracted much political interest. Only major disasters seem to do that. In the UN-ECE we have been working on water issues since the late 1960s, but the problem has now taken on such proportions that we feel we have to raise awareness about this crucial subject. The most important thing is to include provisions for the renewal of individual and collective water- supply systems in renovation programmes for cities and to oblige water-supply companies to monitor and maintain their water-supply systems. It is up to Governments to launch awareness campaigns for the public at large but also for municipalities and companies to remind them that water can no longer be considered as a free gift of nature and that there is a need to change the approach to water use. These campaigns could be supplemented by a number of economic incentives like metering water use and a more realistic pricing of water, which should take into account the investment needs for the renewal of the pipe infrastructure. Otherwise, many major cities in the ECE region may very well end up having to accept a reduction in the quantity and quality of the water that is supplied to them.

The UN-ECE Environment and Human Settlements Division has decided to produce brief articles on its main activities. These articles should serve to inform the media as well as the experts of its major undertakings. They will deliberately be non-technical so that everybody can have access to our work. For more information do not hesitate to contact us.

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