Non-revenue water (NRW)

Water put into the distribution system that earns no revenue. In the IWA water balance it is system input volume minus billed authorised consumption, so it covers real losses, apparent losses and unbilled authorised use such as fire fighting or mains flushing.

NRW is the headline measure of how much treated water a utility produces but is not paid for. Reducing it recovers revenue or cuts production costs without a new water source.