ZAGREB, 24 May (Hina) - Croatia is losing increasing amounts of water each year, with non-revenue water - water lost before reaching consumers - rising to 52% of total water abstracted in 2024, according to a report by the Water Services Council.
The report on the state of the water services sector for 2024 showed that more than 528 million cubic metres of water entered the public supply system, while consumers were billed for 256 million cubic metres. The remaining 272 million cubic metres were classified as non-revenue water.
The losses include leakages and pipe bursts, technical losses, unauthorised consumption and metering inaccuracies - water entering the system but not billed to end users.
The report has been submitted to parliament, although it is not yet known when lawmakers will debate it.
According to the report, the average total household water price rose to €2.49 per cubic metre, while the average monthly household bill reached €29.38. Regional disparities remained wide, with household water prices ranging from €0.85 to €5 per cubic metre.
Croatia had 141 water service providers operating in 2024, of which 140 were publicly owned. The sector recorded a €53 million rise in revenue compared with the previous year and ended 2024 with an after-tax profit of about €45 million.
However, the public segment of the sector posted a pre-tax loss of around €3.5 million, with expenditure rising slightly faster than revenue.
The share of non-revenue water stood at 51% in 2023, up from about 49% in 2021, despite sector reforms and years of infrastructure investment.
A national action plan adopted in 2024 aims to reduce annual non-revenue water losses from around 235 million cubic metres to about 113 million cubic metres over 15 years. The plan is estimated to require investment of around €1.7 billion.
The document said Croatia lacked a comprehensive system for managing water losses and warned that many utilities did not have updated network maps, records on pipe age, systematic leak detection or specialised loss-management teams.
It added that a large share of the water supply network was ageing, particularly in urban areas, while most public utilities replace less than 2% of their network annually.
High water losses are not unique to Croatia, but the country ranks among the worst performers in the European Union. According to 2021 data from the European Environment Agency, around one-third of water intended for public supply is lost across the EU before reaching consumers.
In Croatia, Bulgaria and Italy, for example, losses exceed 40%, while Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands have reduced losses to below 15%.
