Topics and Intention

Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is a problem for almost all water supply utilities around the world. It is a particularly serious issue in areas where water is scarce. It requires immediate attention and appropriate action to reduce avoidable pressures on scarce and valuable water resources. Economic losses due to unpaid consumption require managerial strategies by the water suppliers to react adequately to that challenge. In many cities losses in water supply build up in the vicinity of domestic connections. Here technical, managerial and customer related solutions should be implemented. Water efficiency must be improved in all areas of usage.

The reduction of NRW is a key issue for increasing the performance of water utilities and supplying the population with sufficient clean drinking water. Several big utilities have already started programmes to reduce NRW step-by-step. It is well known that many institutions and water suppliers have developed and implemented strategies and technologies to control leakage and administrative losses. These strategies have turned out to be highly efficient and have received worldwide recognition.

The 3rd ACWUA Best Practice Conference and Exhibition: Non-Revenue Water Management in the Arab Region is an opportunity for leading personnel to delve deeply into the main aspects related to NRW. It will bring together experts from all stakeholders involved in NRW, especially operators and operational staff from the Arab Region. The objective of the conference is to gather together applicable knowledge of

Possible strategies, techniques and applications,
Regionally approved case studies,
Useful tools as well as
Clear concepts of the dimensions of integrated NRW management

in order to apply the best available technical and managerial solutions in improving the control of NRW usage and in reducing water losses for utilities in Arab countries.

This Conference and Exhibition is to be hosted by the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA). For the local organisation, IEA-ONEP, an active member of ACWUA is in charge. The event will be realized in joint cooperation with UNW-DPC and UN-HABITAT as their Regional Activity on Capacity Development for Water Efficiency as follow-up of the recommendations of the International Workshop on "Drinking Water Loss Reduction: Developing Capacity for Applying Solutions", held on 3-5 September 2008 in Bonn, Germany. In order to address this problem at the regional level, UNW-DPC and UN-HABITAT are jointly organizing a series of regional workshops. This is the first regional workshop in the Arab region and will ensure a programme which goes beyond purely regional experiences.