Smart water meters

The Ilembe District Municipality has plans to make the provision of potable water more efficient and high-tech.
The municipality introduced the new pre-paid water meter at a public meeting at the KwaDukuza Town Hall last week.
Ward councillor Sandeep Oudhram said plans to upgrade the system were first introduced in 2007, when the ageing water infrastructure in the central business district was causing Ilembe to lose half of its water.
“Ilembe spent R50 million upgrading our CBD pipes and since then we have made significant progress in water supply. We are now taking it further.”
The new ‘intelligent meter’ will make it possible for consumers to budget for their water consumption.
Much like a prepaid electricity meter, consumers will buy vouchers and load it into the meter. A smart keypad mounted in the home will then display the amount of water available.
As the water is used, the display will change, allowing consumers to top up when necessary.
An external device will be installed outside the home for Ilembe to monitor. Any interference with the meter will shut the system down and alert Ilembe’s control centre.
The meter is also fitted with a device that alerts Ilembe of any leakages, which Ilembe mayor Welcome Mdabe promised technicians would fix “before residents notice a problem”.
Mdabe said the municipality’s indigent policy remains in place and a standard tariff of R9,11 would apply.
He said the municipality will be conducting door-to-door visits throughout the district to transfer consumers onto the new pre-paid system.
“We want our consumers to be totally comfortable with this system. We have budgeted R17m for the current phase of the project and we want it to work. If you have outstanding debt, please come and talk to us so we can work out a payment plan. Everyone must have clean drinking water.”
Ward councillors will notify communities of when door-to-door staff will be in their area.