{
  "id": 5445200,
  "title": "Why Perlis’s water woes remain hard to resolve",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/why-perliss-water-woes-remain-hard-to-resolve",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2026/09/04/why-perlis-s-water-woes-remain-hard-to-resolve"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Perlis faces a persistent water paradox despite recent improvements. The state's most pressing issue is not the available raw water, but the high rate of treated water that fails to generate revenue after reaching households. As of August, the Timah Tasoh dam dropped to an alert level following heavy rain, but this did not eliminate the core problem. The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) reported Perlis's non-revenue water (NRW) rate at 62.3%, significantly higher than the national average of 34.4%. NRW refers to water that leaks, is lost, or is otherwise not billed. The auditor-general's report indicates that physical losses, such as pipe issues, account for 79.4% of the NRW in Perlis over the past three years. This suggests that the physical distribution network, not just raw water levels, is the primary challenge. The state has implemented several projects, including a RM205 million upgrade in 2021 and a RM39.8 million National NRW Programme from 2020-2022. Despite these efforts, Perlis's NRW remains above 60%, with only about 35 units reaching consumers for every 100 units produced. The dam supplies raw water, but the poor NRW rate increases vulnerability during droughts or treatment disruptions. The success of Perlis's water initiatives should be measured by the actual replacement of critical pipes, timely leak detection and repair, and a consistent decline in NRW, not just the amount of money spent.",
  "summary": "After years of reforms, targets and investments, the question remains unchanged: why is the non-revenue water rate still so high?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Why Perlis’s water woes remain hard to resolve",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/why-perliss-water-woes-remain-hard-to-resolve-5446484",
        "published": "2026-09-03T23:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}