The state's NRW currently stands at 56 per cent.
Joachim said this had caused Sabah to incur RM54,971,789 in financial losses and the loss of 321,744,917 cubic metres of treated water per annum, which is equivalent to 128,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
He said deteriorating water distribution infrastructure remained the biggest contributor to water losses, with some asbestos cement pipes dating back more than 60 years.
"The primary contributor to non-revenue water is our ageing and deteriorated water distribution infrastructure. In plain language, the pipes are broken.
"Some of the pipes have been there for the last 50 to 60 years, with some in Sandakan dating back to the British era," he told the New Straits Times.
Joachim said the problem had become more apparent following the commissioning of new water treatment plants, as higher water pressure placed additional stress on ageing pipelines.
The deputy chief minister added that restoring water pressure after a pipe burst was not a matter of one or two hours.
"Sometimes it takes a few days because the system has to be normalised and air pockets have to be released before supply can fully resume," he said, adding that such incidents often caused water disruptions.
To address the problem, Joachim said about 1,640km of ageing asbestos cement pipes would be replaced with mild steel cement-lined (MSCL) pipes, which have an estimated service life of up to 50 years and are resistant to higher pressure.
He said the replacement programme would be carried out in phases to minimise disruptions to the water supply.
"The estimated overall cost of replacing these pipes is about RM900 million.
"The estimated cost is subject to site conditions, current material prices, and associated works such as excavation, pipe installation, testing, commissioning and reinstatement works," he said, adding that the Water Department had been receiving allocations lower than the required costs and relied on federal soft loans.
Apart from pipe bursts and leakages, Joachim said illegal water connections and unauthorised consumption through meter bypasses also contributed significantly to NRW.
He said the Water Department detected and disconnected 4,521 illegal connections in 2024, followed by 4,288 in 2025, and another 1,440 as of June this year.
"What we don't know is whether there are more. We don't have the power to prosecute offenders. We can only issue compounds. For some industries, a compound of RM300 does not mean anything," he said.
Joachim said the state also planned to build more treated water reservoirs to improve pressure management and reduce reliance on direct pumping.
Instead of pumping treated water directly into distribution pipelines, he said water would first be stored in reservoirs before flowing by gravity to consumers, providing a more stable supply and reducing pressure on ageing infrastructure.
He said additional reservoirs were needed to meet growing demand, particularly in developing areas.
On Monday, Works and Utilities Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Ridhwan Roger Linus said the ministry planned to modernise its water management system by deploying smart leak detection technology and developing an interconnected water grid to improve supply reliability across districts. - NST
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