Non-revenue water (NRW) or water loss remains a big challenge for Perumda Air Minum Kota Magelang in supplying water to the residents of Magelang city. From August to December 2020, the Perumda recorded an average water loss of 381 liters per second or 60% of the total water produced. There are a wide variety of causes of NRW, including water leakage.
Unfortunately, according to Ragil, the Assistant Manager of the Department of Water Loss Control of Perumda AM Kota Magelang, leak detection is not actively carried out since the Perumda relies solely on meter readers or residents reporting leaks they discovered by chance. Ragil added, “For repairs, we only use an inherited technique called “pacel”. If there is a leak in a pipe joint, we will usually strap a shred of wood like bamboo using some rubber from slippers until the leak stops.”
In May–June 2021, Perumda AM Kota Magelang and the USAID-SECO Partnership carried out leak detection activities along Kalimas 2 Transmission Pipeline (4 km) and Bandongan Transmission Pipeline (1 km). USAID-SECO Partnership lent the Perumda up-to-date leak detection equipment, including one hand-held clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter (KATflow200), one digital listening stick (Primayer GXG Mikron3 Junior Operation), and one water leakage ground microphone system (Mikron 3 Primayer), and guided them in using the tools. These activities detected 11 leakage points that each leaked 1–2 liters of water per second.
“At the beginning, we doubted those tools. But after it has been proven [to be able to identify leaks], we thought ‘oh this is real'”, Ragil admitted. With the assistance of USAID-SECO Partnership, 10 out of the 11 leaks have been repaired by the Perumda. Pak Ragil and his team admitted that they learned a lot from the repair process. He explained, “We learned what material to use, the right type of rubber to use. The pacel technique will not seal a leak for a long time because the wood will rot. We learned it is better to use repair clamps, which can be pre-ordered for high precision. We used to use spare repair clamps for a big leak and used the “pacel” technique for a small one.”
Ragil added that Perumda AM Kota Magelang plans to continue leak detection and repair activities independently downstream and along distribution pipes by borrowing leak detection equipment from Akatirta. He is optimistic that active and routine leak detections and repairs will amount to significant NRW reduction. USAID-SECO Partnership and Perumda AM Kota Magelang aim to reduce the rate of NRW in the city to 57% by the end of 2021. The Partnership is also helping Perumda AM Kota Magelang prepare an SOP on pipe leakage repair.
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