This study aims to reduce Non-revenue water (NRW) in the municipality of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. The main objectives of this thesis are to implement the water loss management plan in Keetmanshoop, and research the impacts of prepaid water meters on water tariffs and unpaid water bills in other municipalities in Namibia. NRW consists mostly of leaks in the water distribution system, overflows from water reservoirs, metering errors, water thefts and illegal connections. This research aims to reduce those losses by water distribution network management, improving water finances, locating leaks and repairing them and gathering other information to help solve these issues. On the other hand, unpaid bills are a significant problem in the municipality of Keetmanshoop, and this thesis includes research on prepaid water meters in other Namibian municipalities. Prepaid water meters are one solution to increase income in water sector by forcing users to pay their water use beforehand and thus reducing the need for tariff increase. This research aims to answer the question if prepaid water meters could be the solution for Keetmanshoop water sector. The thesis is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on prepaid water meters and the other section describes the case in Keetmanshoop and discusses the current issues in the municipality. Methods used in this project included literature survey, semi-structured interviews, observation and analysis on the water distribution system. The research included field work in Keetmanshoop between June 24th and August 23rd, 2013. The theory part of the thesis describes the factors affecting Non-revenue water and the methods used to reduce it. The results of this study reveal that non-revenue water in Keetmanshoop is around 33% (July 2012 - June 2013). The results of this thesis also show that prepaid water meters have not been sufficient enough for the other municipalities that were studied. Because of this, the prepaid water meter system is not recommended for Keetmanshoop. As a conclusion new suggestions for the water sector improvement plan are presented for Keetmanshoop. Based on the studies on the prepaid water meters the effects of them are discussed in monetary and other terms.
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