A Southeast Asian water company transforms efficiency and governance

The challenge: tackling water loss and high levels of consumption

Many countries across Asia deal with water loss. But one national water company also faced unusually high levels of per capita demand for drinking water.

And with a funding model that wasn’t ringfenced, operations were complex and difficult to monitor. This meant the country’s water supply infrastructure wasn’t operating efficiently or in line with international best practice.

To improve water quality and reliability of supply, the water company looked for a multidisciplinary consultancy partner. It appointed Royal HaskoningDHV to assess its infrastructure, operations, governance, and organisational structure, and support with comprehensive improvement plans to its tackle water loss and water quality issues.

The solution: a comprehensive technical and commercial assessment

We conducted a three-phase assessment:

Phase 1: Data collection

Phase 2: Using the WorldBank Utility Turnaround Framework, we ranked the company on its organisation and strategy, human resources management, financial management, technical operations and commercial operations, identifying areas of strength and where more work was needed.

Phase 3: We offered recommendations on how to improve each area.

Our strategic recommendations included restructuring to ensure profit and loss wasn’t obscured by ministry subsidies – helping the company to understand how to set sustainable water tariffs.

We encouraged the country to change water-related social behaviour by demand management and battling leakages instead of adding new infrastructure.

Finally, we suggested the company introduce more digitised processes to its operations.

The result: a complete plan to transform water supply and consumption

There’s no single solution for water loss and high levels of consumption. But now the water company has a plan that spans operations, technology, and citizen behaviour, it has everything it needs to deliver real change.

Over time, these plans can help it repair and maintain infrastructure to mitigate leakage and loss, and encourage behaviour change to reduce demand for water. And with more transparent, efficient operations, the company can price tariffs and manage processes more effectively.

Importantly, with our experts on hand to continue supporting with maintenance and strategy, the water company has the ongoing expertise it needs to solve its challenges and enhance water supply and quality for the long term.