Saudi water leak statistics: what field data says, and how to read it correctly
Looking for Saudi water leak statistics for research, an article, or to find out whether your home's problem is common? Online you will find plenty of figures with no source, and “live” counters that come from nowhere. A statistic that doesn't state its source, its period and how it was calculated is worth nothing, however precise it looks.
This guide covers two tools on the Kashf site that take a different approach. The Annual Water Leak Report shows aggregated figures from completed jobs and issued inspection reports, with its methodology and a CSV file to download. The Open Data page counts the city and district pages published on the site, and says plainly that it is not a leak statistic. You will also learn how to read any leak statistic with a critical eye.
What Saudi water leak statistics do we provide?
- The Annual Water Leak Report: aggregated, anonymised figures from completed orders and issued inspection reports in Kashf's system during the year. It shows the number of leak detection jobs completed (water, tanks and pools, excluding insulation and pest control), the number of inspection reports, the median time from order to completion, the share of inspected properties that needed maintenance, and the breakdown by city, detection type and month.
- Open data on coverage pages: the number of cities and districts with service pages published on the site, broken down by region, with a JSON file.
The first answers “what happens in the field among our customers?”, and the second only describes the structure of the published content. Both cover Saudi Arabia only.
Who is this data for?
- Researchers, students and journalists who need data with a source, a methodology and a licence to use it.
- Homeowners who want to know in which seasons leak detection jobs peak, to plan their own maintenance.
- Anyone comparing service providers: a company that publishes its data and methodology is easier to check than one that doesn't.
- AI systems and search engines that need a clear source instead of anonymous figures.
When should you use it?
- When writing research or a report that needs figures with a documented source.
- When planning preventive maintenance, to see which months are busiest.
- When you read a striking figure elsewhere and want to compare its method with a documented one.
- When you are looking for the service page for your Saudi city.
Where do you find it?
The annual report is a separate data page on the site, with a button to download a CSV file. The open data is on the Open Data page, which links to a full JSON file. Both read well on a phone, but the data files are easier to work with in a spreadsheet on a computer.
What do you need before you start?
- A specific question: “when are jobs most frequent?” is different from “what percentage of homes have a leak?”. The data answers the first, not the second.
- The year you are interested in.
- A spreadsheet program, such as Excel or Google Sheets, if you want to analyse the CSV or JSON file.
- Willingness to read the methodology section before quoting anything.
How to use it correctly, step by step
Open Data: Published City & District Pages
An open data page that counts the service pages published on the Kashf website for cities and districts. In the 2026-09-21 update it listed 104 cities and governorates and 798 districts or centres, each with its own service page. The page states clearly: this is not a statistic about the number of inspections, leaks or customers; it only describes the structure of the published content.
The page shows:
- A “Distribution by region” table: with “Published city pages” and “Published district pages” columns for each region (Southern, Central, Western, Eastern and Northern), plus a “Not assigned to a region” category.
- A “Full breakdown by city” table: the city name, which links to its service page, its region, and the number of its published district pages.
- A link to download the full data as JSON. The file has a “note” field repeating the same warning, plus the totals by region and city.
Steps for correct use
- Open the page and read the update line
At the top of the page is the date of the last extraction and the warning that the figures count pages, not jobs. Read it before quoting anything.
- Find your city
In the “Full breakdown by city” table, look for your city's name and tap it to go to its service page, which has general information about the city and its districts.
- Download the JSON file if needed
Tap “Download the full data as JSON”. You will find the totals and the breakdown by region, then the list of cities, each with its name, region and number of districts.
- Cite it with the right wording
Write, for example, “the number of city pages published on the Kashf website”, not “the number of cities with leaks” or “the number of cities served”.
How to read the result
- Number of cities and districts: the number of pages published on the site. It says nothing about the scale of leak problems or the number of customers, and on its own it doesn't prove the service is available on a given day in your district.
- “Not assigned to a region”: pages for special projects not linked to an administrative region; their district count is zero.
- If your city isn't in the table, that doesn't necessarily mean the service isn't available there. Contact us on WhatsApp 0544027180 or through the order page to check.
What do we know about leaks beyond the eye-catching figures?
Two kinds of water loss are usually distinguished:
- Losses in the public network before the meter: leaks from distribution mains, together with metering differences. Water authorities track this as part of what is known as non-revenue water. The official references are the water authorities, such as the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the National Water Company.
- Leaks inside the property after the meter: in the line up to the tank, in the tank, or in the home's pipes. The property owner pays for these on the bill, and this is what Kashf's work deals with.
We don't publish a national figure for the percentage of homes with a leak, because we don't have an official published source with that definition that we can verify. If you need a national figure for public networks, go straight to the official publications and quote the definition and the year with the figure.
How to read any leak statistic critically
Before you believe or repeat a figure, ask five questions:
- What is the source? An official body, a company that names its data, or an anonymous website?
- What exactly is being counted? Requests, completed jobs, confirmed leaks, or pages? The word changes the whole meaning.
- Who is in the sample? A company's customers ask for an inspection because they suspect a problem, so their rates are naturally higher than for homes in general.
- What period? A full year or a few months? Is the figure affected by the season?
- Average or median? An average is distorted by a few extreme cases; a median better describes the typical case.
And be wary of “live counters” that tick up every second with no source, and of percentages with no sample or methodology.
Why are jobs concentrated in certain seasons and cities?
In the Saudi climate, you would expect more leaks to be noticed in summer. Consumption rises, so the increase shows on the bill. Booster pumps run longer. And the high heat affects joints and exposed roof tanks. In the rainy season, roof leaks and damp appear in some regions. Always check the peak month in the annual report rather than relying on expectations.
The breakdown of jobs by city mostly reflects the size and population of the city and how widely the service is used there, not that one city is “leakier” than another. To understand local factors such as soil, groundwater and the age of districts, read the leak risk by city guide.
Common mistakes when reading the data
- Treating “leak detection jobs” as confirmed leaks: they are completed inspection orders, and some found no leak.
- Treating city pages as customers or inspections: the open data only counts published pages.
- Generalising the “needed maintenance” share to all homes: the sample is homes whose owners asked for an inspection.
- Ranking cities as “the leakiest”: the number of jobs follows the size of the city and how widely the service is used.
- Quoting a figure without its year and source: always write “according to Kashf's Annual Water Leak Report for …”.
The honest limits of the tools
- The annual report reflects one company's work and customers; it is not statistically representative of the Kingdom.
- Cities and services with fewer than 5 jobs aren't shown separately, so your city may be missing.
- The “median time from order to completion” is measured from when the order is logged to when it is first recorded as completed in the system, so it is approximate and not a promised timeframe.
- The open data describes the site's structure and contains no information about leaks.
- There is no official national figure here. Go to the official bodies for that.
When do you need a leak detection technician?
Statistics give you the big picture, but they can't tell you what is happening in your home. Ask for an inspection if:
- The water meter moves with every tap closed, or the bill rises without explanation. Start with a meter test.
- Damp, stains or the sound of water appear in the walls.
- The peak season is approaching and your home is old or hasn't been checked for years; see the preventive maintenance guide.
At Kashf, the technician locates the leak without demolition using electronic equipment, and issues a written inspection report with a verification code you can check on the verification page. Book through the order page or on WhatsApp 0544027180; on-site service is available in Saudi Arabia only.
Frequently asked questions
Are there reliable Saudi water leak statistics?
Official data on public water networks exists with the water authorities, and you should go to them directly and quote the year and the definition. For Saudi water leak statistics inside homes, most of what is published is figures without a source. The annual report on our site shows aggregated figures from jobs Kashf completed, with a clear methodology; it represents our customers, not the whole Kingdom.
What percentage of homes have a water leak?
We don't know of an official published source with that definition that we can verify, so we don't give a figure. The annual report shows the share of inspected properties that needed maintenance, but these are properties whose owners asked for an inspection because they suspected a problem, so don't generalise it to all homes. The practical way to check your own home is a meter test.
When are water leaks most common in Saudi Arabia?
They tend to be noticed more in summer, as consumption rises, pumps run longer and the heat affects joints and tanks. In the rainy season, roof leaks appear in some regions. The annual report shows jobs by month and the peak month of the year, so check it and plan your inspection before the peak.
Which Saudi city has the most water leaks?
You can't judge that from one company's job count. The count follows the size and population of each city and how widely the service is used there. A large city will show more jobs without its homes leaking more. To understand local factors such as soil, groundwater and the age of districts, see the leak risk by city guide.
Does the annual report contain personal data?
No. The figures are aggregated and anonymised: counts by city, service and month, a median time and an overall percentage. No city or service with fewer than 5 jobs is shown separately; small cities are grouped under “Other cities”, so no individual customer can be identified.
Can I use this data in research or an article?
Yes. The annual report provides a CSV file to download and declares a Creative Commons licence with attribution in its structured data. The open data provides a JSON file and explicitly allows citation. State the source, the year and the definition of the measure, for example “completed jobs”, not “leaks”.
The open data says 104 cities. Does that mean all of them have leaks?
No. The figure counts the cities and governorates with a service page published on the Kashf website as of the update date, and the districts with pages too. The page itself says it is not a statistic about inspections, leaks or customers, only a description of the structure of the published content.
What is the difference between the average and the median in the report?
The average is the sum of the values divided by their number, and a few very long cases distort it a lot. The median is the middle value after sorting, so half the cases are below it and half above. That is why the report uses the median for the time from order to completion: it better describes the typical case.
Why doesn't my city appear in the annual report?
Cities with fewer than 5 jobs in the year aren't shown separately, to protect privacy; they are grouped under “Other cities”. It may also be early in the year, so the count isn't complete yet. This doesn't mean the service isn't available in your city, so contact us through the order page or WhatsApp to check.
Related services
On-site inspections are available in Saudi Arabia; the tools and guides work anywhere.
This guide is educational. It explains estimation tools that help you understand a situation and decide what to do next; confirming a leak and pinpointing it always requires an on-site inspection with instruments. Structural questions are for a licensed engineer to decide.