Context:

Water losses are a financial obstacle for supply service providers as they generate economic losses that are passed on to users, thereby raising water supply costs. The objective of this paper is to shows an analysis of non-revenue water in an urban supply system in Colombia.

Method:

This study was conducted from information of water produced (WP) and billed by the supply system for about 16 years. A comparative analysis was carried out with respect to reports of non-revenue water in Colombian and international reference systems. Rainfall influence on the non-revenue water index (NRWI) was also assessed. A prospective economic analysis was finally carried out using ARIMA models.

Results:

There is an increase of 5.0% in NRWI per 100 000 m3 of WP. There is an increase of 2.28% in NRWI for each increase of 100 mm in annual rainfall. The system has a lower price on WP (22.2%) in relation with Latin American reference systems. However, the system has a higher price (33.3%) relative to the Colombian average. Analysis ARIMA shows that the effects of AP in an instant of time are transferred during six months in the water supply system.

Conclusions:

The application of NRWI in supply systems is a useful tool for the study and development of water loss control programs.