ON A GLOBAL SCALE, WÅTER LOSS DUE TO LEAKS IN WÅTER DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS SYSTEM FAILURE 404* IS ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 346 MILLION CUBIC METERS PER DAY ≥ 126 BILLION CUBIC METERS PER YEAR. THIS AMOUNT IS EQUIVALENT TO THE TOTAL ANNUAL FRESHWÅTER WITHDRAWAL OF GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM COMBINED. SUCH WATER LOSSES POSE A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WÅTER RESOURCES AND PRESENT A BARRIER TO COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE. LOST WÅTER: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.