Saving our most precious resource
All spheres of government need to be at the forefront of efforts to conserve water
Forget gold, platinum or diamonds – water is our most precious resource. As a water-scarce country impacted by drought and with a rapidly expanding population, public sector managers have a greater responsibility than ever before to reduce water losses, along with the help of the people they serve.
The current situation
South Africa is among the most water-stressed countries in the world due to an unpredictable climate, an average annual rainfall of just 608mm and renewable water resources that are under increasing pressure.
2015 had the lowest recorded rainfall of 403mm, which is the lowest since the South African Weather Service began keeping records more than 100 years ago.
Despite good rainfall in some parts of the country, South Africa is yet to escape the grip of one of its worst ever droughts.
The Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape are particularly badly affected.Western Cape dam levels are at an average of 35 percent capacity which is the lowest in history. In November, Beaufort West made the news for being the first town in the country to have its main supply dam run dry.
“Water scarcity could get rapidly worse as our supply contracts and demand escalates due to growth, urbanisation, unsustainable use, degradation of wetlands, water losses and a decrease in rainfall due to climate change,” explained Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) advisor Trevor Balzer in a Parliament meeting recently.
In light of these concerning facts and a population which has increased by more than 10 percent in the past five years (to over 56 million people), the conservation of water has reached critical importance. Public sector managers on every level of government have to stand on the frontlines of this battle doing all they can to reduce water losses and continue providing water to the communities under their care.
Combined effort needed
All spheres of government need to be at the forefront of efforts to conserve water. Speaking at an event in Durban recently, Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Makonyane said that the country has to proactively root out unlawful water use, noncompliance of water use authorisation and water losses and leaks.
According to research by water engineers WRP Consulting, an estimated 37 percent of South Africa's water supply is lost through physical leaks, commercial losses and noncompliant water users, which translates to financial losses of about R7.2 billion.
According to DWS,“The main problem areas with the water leaks issue lie mainly with the lack of adequate operation and maintenance of the water infrastructure system among most of the municipalities. It is also exacerbated by illegal connections and lack of education and awareness regarding water conservation in different communities.”
Government's War on Leaks project aims to address the issue of inadequate infrastructure with the training of 15 000 artisans, plumbers and water agents to fix leaking taps and pipes.
Action leading to real results
In the water-stressed Western Cape, the Drakenstein Local Municipality is implementing proactive solutions to water losses.
Drakenstein had already made a decision to investigate and reduce water losses in 1999 when 34 percent of the municipality's water was being lost.
Identifying that aging infrastructure was a major cause, in 2000 the municipality prioritised projects which still form an important part of the water conservation strategy today.
Drakenstein's biggest ongoing water-saving initiative is the replacement of 14.2km of asbestos pipes with longerlasting high density polyethelyne pipes (HDPE) and R120 million has been budgeted for the project.
“We were fully convinced that the latter offered us significantly more advantages and impressive cost-saving benefits.Taking the life cycle of the HDPE pipe as a material into account, it surpasses most other pipe materials,” explained André Kowalewski, Senior Manager: Water Services.
Tests and calculations done on HDPE have shown that the pipe material's useful lifespan runs up to 100 years compared to a maximum of 30 years with other materials such as asbestos and full stainless steel pipes.
One of the most attractive advantages of the new pipes is the absence of pipe joints.This eliminates issues with corrosion, failing joints and costly maintenance issues,
resulting in more consistent and secure water supply.
Although the initial costs of HDPE applications and stainless steel fittings are higher than other available options, the municipality is saving hundreds of millions of rands in lost water.
Together with the other water-saving projects, over the past five years water losses have been stabilised at between 11 percent and 16 percent.The figure for 2016 stood at 13.4 percent, the lowest amongst municipalities nationwide. By 2014, a total of 174 billion litres had already been saved valued at R872 million.
“As public sector managers, we need to ensure that concerted efforts, along with appropriate funding, are channelled into water conservation and provision. Water supply cannot be viewed in isolation. It is vital for the overall welfare of communities and the economy as a whole,” Kowalewski pointed out.
The municipality has various other projects and initiatives to boost water supply in the region during the severe drought. Emphasis has been placed on the construction of reservoirs, including an eight mega-litre concrete reservoir which ties into the Wemmershoek Dam supply pipeline. Construction is due to be completed by the end of this year.
“Stepped water tariffs and public awareness campaigns are also playing a crucial role in the municipality's water saving strategy,” said Kowalewski.
Stemming the tide
Although national, provincial and local government budgets for water are often inadequate to completely replace infrastructure, more affordable solutions can stem the tide somewhat.
At least that is according to Jay Bhagwan, Executive Manager for the Water Research Commission who pointed out that there are municipalities which manage their water losses within existing budgets.
“There are success stories of municipalities that do not have specific water conservation or water demand management (WC/WDM) budgets but their water distribution systems were well managed, their losses were all under control and within the existing operation and management budgets,” said Bhagwan.
Metering, billing, cost recovery and awareness campaigns are all cost effective ways in which municipalities can eliminate non-revenue generating water. Meanwhile, the identification of leaks remains paramount, postponing the need to build more infrastructure.
In the meantime, municipalities should all develop WC/WDM strategies, which are vital for long-term sustainability of water resources.
“The focus on fixing water leaks will be a primary target, as that is a main cause of loss of water, and municipalities will drive the reduction of household leaks as part of their WC/WDM programmes,” said Ronnie McKenzie, Managing Director of WRP Consulting.
The June 2013 second edition of the government's National Water Resource Strategy, titled ‘Water for an equitable and sustainable future', notes various strategies that will be undertaken by municipalities to deal with the water loss problem.
In addition to the War on Leaks, priorities include implementing water allocation and water authorisation, strengthening compliance monitoring and enforcement, and implementing water resources infrastructure development.
What could the results be?
Based on previous studies that have been done for the DWS, it is estimated that a realistic target for non-revenue water of 25 percent is achievable over 10 years if the required investment of about R2 billion a year is allocated to implement WC/WDM interventions by all municipalities in South Africa.
WC/WDM interventions can often delay expensive infrastructure projects. If calculated properly, it is often found that investment in WC/WDM interventions is highly cost effective with payback periods of less than a year.