City’s water management device installation program provides benefits for all.

All the feedback received in the past year since the City of Cape Town started installing water management devices indicates that it offers very real benefits for water consumers and, in particular, those who are poor or indigent.

The project was initiated because of the increased demand for water as a result of an increase in population, more development spurred by a burgeoning economy, climatic changes adversely affecting rainfall levels and substantial water loss through leaks.

The water management device is a meter which replaces the existing meter, and is programmed to dispense a pre-agreed amount of water each day. This amount can be set to just the free 6 kilolitres (200 litres/day); it can be set to a daily amount that, being in receipt of the monthly R30 indigent grant, could only cost a few rand a month; or to any amount the householder can afford to pay. It must be emphasised that this meter is NOT a prepaid meter, nor is it a ‘trickle flow’ meter - the water flow is normal. The water management device differs from the conventional meter in that once the agreed-upon daily allocation has been used, the flow stops until the next morning.
 
This encourages consumers to analyse and monitor their water usage and to avoid unnecessary wastage. If only a portion of the daily allocation is used, the remainder is carried over to the next day. If, for example, one has an allocation of 450 litres a day and only 300 litres is used, then 150 litres will be carried over to the next day and so on. However, at the end of the month, any unused allocation cannot be carried over to the next month.

Over the past year, since the programme started, the City of Cape Town has installed 7 500 water management devices in Atlantis, Brown’s Farm, Constantia, Delft, Gugulethu, Lost City, Ocean View, Parklands, Samora Machel, Table View and Westbank. The target is to reach 20 000 installations by mid-2009.

High consumption areas
To meet strategic objectives, the City is currently prioritising installation at high water consumption properties. Such properties are often occupied by poor families and the high consumption is frequently caused by leaks. When a resident agrees to have a water management device installed, and is registered indigent, the City will repair all internal leaks before the meter is set to allocate the daily amount. This has benefits to both the resident and the City as it reduces water losses. This facilitates water consumption and budgeting because the resident will know what their water account will be at the end of each month. There is one further, important, benefit: should the resident be registered indigent and, for six consecutive months, continue to pay for monthly water use plus an agreed amount to reduce arrears, then they can apply to have their water and sanitation debts written off. The City has so far written off in excess of R55-million under this scheme.

This device is not intended only for residents who have arrears. It is proposed that, for the next three to five years, all new developments and all high domestic water users will have their existing meters replaced by the water management device,  thereby saving the money that would have been lost through leaks.

The City will not, however, be offering a free leak-fixing service to all residents. According to the new water by-law, the onus rests on the consumer not to waste water. Therefore, should leaks be detected, a qualified plumber must be employed to  repair them. The device will help everyone who has it installed because it serves as an early warning system. Should a leak occur, the allocated amount of water will quickly be dissipated causing the device to shut off until the next morning. And, while this is a temporary inconvenience, it will alert the resident to the existence of a leak and the need to investigate and have it fixed. The most water that will be wasted is one day’s allocation, so it will prevent unexpectedly high water bills.

For further information contact Donnavin Wright on +27 21 590 1417 or email donnavin.wright@capetown.gov.za