Municipal water supply, 2010

Altogether, the municipal waterworks produced 722 million m3 of water, which is up 2 per cent compared to 2009. Around 31 per cent of the water supplied is “lost” through leakage.

Half the pipeline system from 1971-2000

The estimated length of the municipal water pipelines is nearly 42 700 kilometres; the same as the earth’s circumference at the equator.

Old pipeline systems with potential for leakage may increase the likelihood of polluting the drinking water being transported. Thus, renewal of pipelines is important. Around 50 per cent (20 900 kilometres) of the municipal pipeline system was laid between 1971 and 2000.

Booster pumps need to be used in many areas of Norway in order to transport the water to the consumers. There are a total of 2 155 such pumps in the country, which corresponds to an average of 1 booster pump every 20 kilometres of water pipelines. If the pressure should drop, there is a risk that polluted water from the outside may come into contact with the drinking water inside the pipelines. Thus, it is important to reduce pressure drops to a minimum by renewing old pipelines and having good routines for planned stops in the water supply.

Pipeline renewal stabilised

The renewal activity varies. Calculated as a 3-year moving average for the period 2008-2010, the rate of renewal is 0.71 per cent of the total length of water pipelines. Although this is an increase compared to 0.48 per cent for the period 2002-2004, the renewal rate of the last 4-5 years has now apparently stabilised around the 0.7 per cent level.

Satisfactory water quality

Around 4.1 million inhabitants in Norway were connected to the 1 058 municipal water works located in the country. This corresponds to 83.5 per cent of the population.

In 2010, a total of 96, 79 and 93 per cent respectively were connected to municipal waterworks that provided water with satisfactory content of thermo-tolerant intestinal bacteria ( E . coli ), colour and levels of acidity (pH).