KARACHI, July 9: The much-awaited water losses reduction and system strengthening (WLR&SS) project has been initiated at an estimated cost of Rs2.1 billion, well-placed sources told Dawn.

Upon the completion of the federal government-funded project in about a year, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) is expected to save 10 per cent of the around 40 per cent total water losses being incurred by it daily owing to different factors.

Though the KWSB claims that the overall water losses range between 35 to 40 per cent of its total bulk water supply i.e. 720 million gallons per day (645mgd from the Indus source and 75mgd from the Hub dam), a team of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), which had recently conducted a study for preparing the city’s water and sewerage systems’ master plan up to 2025, puts the percentage of non-revenue water at 45 per cent.

The need for undertaking the water losses reduction and system strengthening project was felt in 1996 when it was assessed that 40 per cent of overall water losses occurred in the utility’s trunk main system and the project was assigned priority by the federal government in 2006.

Citing the reasons for the substantial water losses, the sources said these include leakages in its aging network, lack of maintenance and repair, illegal connections and unauthorized consumption of water, no planned leakage control system, pilferage, poor workmanship and material used for pipe and joint repairs, poor workmanship and materials for connections carried out by consumers, which are largely unsupervised by KWSB staff, and overflows, which go unchecked because there are no volume charges.

It was with the inception of the 100mgd K-III water project that it was planned to maximize the benefits by reducing trunk main water losses through the WLR&SS project.

However, the project’s scope of work has now been changed altogether to include some other works pertaining to reservoirs’ strengthening system and installation of flow measuring meters and flow control valves to regulate the water supply system and as such, plugging of as many as 35 of the total 40 trunk mains had been excluded.

When asked why the work aimed at plugging leakages of such a huge number of trunk mains has been excluded from the project’s initial scope of work, a senior official of the KWSB claimed that as a matter of fact, not all trunk mains are leaking.

Divulging the details of the project, he said it has been divided into two groups:

Group A includes system rehabilitation with extensive repairs of leaking joints, including the strengthening of the water supply system and rehabilitation work related to reservoirs.

Group B covers installation of flow measuring meters and flow control valves to regulate the water supply system. Flow meters will be installed at outlets to water treatment works, reservoirs, bulk water pumping stations and distribution pumping stations.

Asked if a project similar to that of WLR&SS was being planned to check water losses being incurred in the city’s water distribution system, the sources replied in the affirmative.