‘CUC water loss currently at 60%, but is steadily decreasing rate’

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s non-revenue water loss on Saipan is currently at 60%, but CUC is steadily decreasing that number, according to CUC deputy executive director for water and wastewater division Kevin Watson on Tuesday.

In response to questions by Sen. Karl King-Nabors (R-Tinian) during a Senate special committee meeting, Watson said water that is not earning CUC any money—called “non-revenue water”—is either going to a customer that is inaccurately measured due to old meters or to leaks or overflow of a reservoir.

He said they are able to decrease that 60% loss by implementing operational best management practices and lowering reservoir levels so they don’t overflow at night.

In October 2023, CUC’s non-revenue water loss on Saipan was at 64%, which means that more than half of the water CUC was producing was lost and not earning money for the agency.

To further cut down water loss, CUC will be initiating a leak detection and will be repairing leaks as soon as reasonably possible, Watson told the Special Committee on the CNMI Government’s Unpaid CUC Bills on Tuesday.

Watson said they are also putting in a new meter accuracy zoning bench test and a remote tester, and that should go in operation in the next two months.

“That will help us determine the accuracy of the meters for the customers, commercial and government. And we can be more proactive in changing out inaccurate meters,” he said.

The deputy executive director added they are presently doing a water audit for an annual accounting of water loss.

“We do meter the production wells. And from that we can tell how much we’re putting into the system. And we calculate how much is going to the customer,” Watson said.

Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) created the committee to investigate the government’s $77.8-million unpaid utility bills. Sen. Corina L. Magofna (Ind-Saipan) chairs the committee.

Kevin Watson