dws-vei-ethopian-kenyan-nawassco-water-meter-770px-1From 1 to 7 September 2013, Vitens Evides International organized an exposure visit between partner utilities from neighbouring African countries. Ten Ethiopian professionals from the water companies of Harar, Adama, Bishoftu and Oromia joined in to study best practices and some of Vitens Evides Internationals Kenyan projects.

Reduction non-revenue water
The main goal of the visit was to study the non-revenue water (NRW) reduction strategies that are applied in Kenya, but other topics such as decentralized sanitation, debt management and benchmarking were also passionately discussed. 

dws-vei-ethopia-kenya-metring-pic-235pxSmall district metering areas in Nakuru, Vitens Evides Internationals long-standing partner, Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company Limited  (NAWASSCO), presented its experiences on the creation of small district metering areas (DMAs), in which they were able to reduce losses in their first DMA from 46% to 7% in just over a year.

The discussions that followed provided insights how NAWASSCO’s careful attention to detail and continuous learning led them to this spectacular result. The Ethiopian colleagues were challenged to plan the creation of a DMA in their own supply zones, sparking the incentive for similar initiatives back home.

dws-vei-ethiopians-visit-kenya-group-350pxWater company management
In Nyeri, Kenya’s best performing utility NYEWASCO welcomed the Ethiopian, Dutch and Nakuru visitors to a refreshing view of water company management. Nyeri’s sustained low NRW, 100% coverage rate and well maintained treatment plant were just a few of the highlights.

Back to Nairobi, the national Water Services Providers Association WASPA presented its results on the establishment of a national water utility benchmark in which Vitens Evides International plays a supporting role.

It showed to be a great example of cross-utility learning, as the large Nairobi water company admitted that they actually learned a lot from best practices applied by utilities of a much smaller scale.

About Vitens Evides International
Vitens Evides International offers technical, operational and management support to local water companies to become financially more healthy and to operate more efficiently with a minimum of water loss and non-revenues. VEI is powered by the two largest water companies of the Netherlands, Vitens and Evides water supply company.

This news item was originally published on the website of Vitens Evides International.

More information
Vitens Evides International
Utrecht, the Netherlands
+31 30 248 79 91
www.vitensevidesinternational.com