This data can be analyzed in order to create a water balance. A water
balance is the first step in any water loss management project and
allows you to have an overview over where your water goes. The water
balance will let you understand the key demands on your water, to
separate the demands into authorised and unauthorised consumption and
it will allow you to make high level predictions about the potential
savings that can be made.
In the past, development projects in the water supply sector have
mainly concentrated on the upgrading or extension of existing water
supply infrastructure. This supply driven approach has proven to be
very costly for both the donor and the receiving country and has not
led to a safe water supply even for the bigger urban centres in most of
the Pacific Islands Countries (PIC). Many of the water supply systems
in PIC have problems with water delivery to customers and one of the
primary causes is the fact that these systems often loose more water
through leakage and wastage than they actually deliver.
With more pressure on limited resources, many PIC have realised that
the key towards sustainability lies not necessarily in costly
infrastructure extension but rather in the sound management of the
water already available. This is the basis of a demand management
approach where strategies are developed to improve and optimise
existing water supply resources and infrastructure, and encourage
customers to use water efficiently. Economic, environmental and social
benefits are achievable with such an approach.
