Establishing Benchmarks for NRW through Performance Indicators

Non-Revenue Water (NRW) remains one of the most persistent global challenges facing water utilities, and this open-access study introduces a fresh approach to understanding and reducing these losses.

By moving beyond simple percentage measures, the research highlights how performance-based indicators can give utilities a clearer picture of where water is being lost and why. It outlines how failures in distribution pipelines, metering errors, and service-related issues all contribute to costly inefficiencies, and provides a practical framework for utilities to classify, measure, and address NRW more effectively.

This article offers an accessible, strategy-focused look at how smarter benchmarking can drive meaningful improvements in water loss management worldwide.