Palau, December 6, 2023- The Project for Strengthening Capacity in Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Reduction in Palau began in February 2022 with technical cooperation from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is now close to completion. As such the Project’s Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) took place on December 6, 2023 to report and evaluate the results of the Project. The twenty-four stakeholders from Koror State Government, Embassy of Japan, JICA Palau Office, JICA Headquarters, Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) and JICA Expert Team participated in the fourth and the final JCC meeting.
NRW, which is defined as water loss, has been an ongoing challenge for PPUC and the Project provided technical assistance to enhance the PPUC’s capacity in implementation of NRW reduction activities such as pipe renewal planning, leak detections, commercial loss reduction, water usage monitoring, and public awareness on water conservation.
Based on the Project’s achievements, it is evident that PPUC has improved its capacity on NRW reduction, successfully fulfilling the Project’s purpose that is to develop the PPUC’s management & operation capacity on NRW reduction. From this point of view, it is expected that NRW reduction contributes to the effective use of water resources and the reduction of operating costs for PPUC’s water supply service. Sustainable water supply management is important, not only to secure water resources that are susceptible to the effects of climate change, but also to reduce operating costs.
The JICA Palau Office significantly hopes that PPUC will continue the NRW reduction activities fully utilizing technical skills on pipe renewal planning, leak detection, and technical documents such as various planning & leak detection manuals gained through the Project, and operate stable and comfortable water supply service for people in Koror-Airai.
A rewarding project with positive outcomes.