sample of customer meters, eliminating systematic errors created through the billing process and validating the number of illegal connections through aerial mapping, field surveys or cross-references between various existing databases. In developing countries it is rare to find utilities that have undertaken validated water audits, and even in developed countries they are not systematically used. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed Water Audit Software which allows utilities to rate the overall degree of validity of their water audit data. Guidance on loss control planning is given based upon the credibility of the data and the measure of losses displayed by the water audit. NRW is sometimes also referred to as unaccounted-for water (UFW). While the two terms are similar, they are not identical, since non-revenue water includes authorized unbilled consumption (e.g. for firefighting or, in some countries, for use by religious institutions) while unaccounted-for water excludes it. Indicators The most commonly used indicator to measure NRW is the percentage of NRW as a share of water produced. While this indicator is easy to understand and indeed has been widely used, it has increasingly been recognized that it is not an appropriate indicator to benchmark NRW levels between utilities or even to monitor changes over time. When losses in terms of absolute volume are constant the percentage of NRW varies greatly with total water use, i.e. if water use increases and the volume of losses remains constant the percentage of NRW declines. This problem can be eliminated by measuring NRW not as a share, but in terms of absolute losses per connection per day, as recommended by the International Water Association (IWA). Nevertheless, the use of percentage figures to compare levels of NRW remains common despite its shortcomings. The International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation recommends to use different indicators (percentage, losses per connection or losses per km of network) together. Losses per kilometer of network are more appropriate to benchmark real losses, while losses per connection are more appropriate to benchmark apparent losses. The concept of NRW as an indicator to compare real losses of water utilities has been criticized as flawed, particularly because real losses depend to some extent on factors largely outside the control of the utility, such as topography, age of network, length of network per connection and water use per capita. As an alternative indicator for the measurement of real losses an Infrastructure