Manila Water NRW Strategy, Philippines

What is it?

A strategy to address leakage, illegal connections and water theft, which combines social action as well as engineering best practice.

Who is responsible?

Manila Water, the private company which has been managing water services in the east zone of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, since 1997.

What makes it special?

• Non-revenue water has been reduced from a high of 63% in 1997 to a record low of 14% in 2009, while the population served has doubled in size to six million, and customer satisfaction has increased from 3% to nearly 100%.

• Management of the network was divided into 255 demand management zones, with territorial managers accountable for local performance. It is through their engagement with the communities they serve, and the introduction of the Tubig Para Sa Barangay programme to provide water to the urban poor, that the problem of illegal connections has been largely eliminated.

• On the engineering side, there has been a massive pipe replacement programme, with over 3,000km of pipes replaced. The 2009 NRW figure was achieved after a major network clean-up, the removal of abandoned service pipes, the installation of pressure-reducing valves and the rehabilitation of old and rusted pipes.