Tshwane mayor Randall Williams has expressed confidence in the metro’s new water-loss reduction plan.
On Wednesday, a mayoral committee approved a turnaround plan to address high water losses because of leaking meters, pipes, illegal connections, ageing infrastructure and a lack of maintenance in the metro.
Williams said that better water management processes and more accurate billing systems would lead to increased revenue and stabilise the metro’s financial state, which he previously described as a “mess”.
“Currently, the metro is divided into 240 demand management zones in terms of water use,” Williams said.
“All of these zones will benefit from these interventions, which will be phased in over five years. The estimated savings generated from the reduction in water losses are estimated at R8-million per month. This could lead to savings of up R100-million a year.”
He said the loss of water hit the metro’s revenue hard.
“With about 3.3-million people living in Tshwane, the metro currently faces the challenge of meeting consumer demand for water services due to the increasing population.
“It is imperative that the city distributes water optimally and efficiently.”
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Williams said the metro’s report on water losses showed that the city is effectively losing 30% of the total amount of revenue it should receive from water sales.
Williams believed that the committee’s approved turnaround strategy would mend this.
“With better water management processes and more accurate billing systems, it will also lead to increased revenue in the future and help stabilise the city’s financial position.
The strategic intervention plan would include:
– The installation of bulk meters;
– Log bulk meters;
– Pressure management;
– Leak detection and fixing;
– Pipe replacement;
– Meter audit/replacement;
– Connection replacement;
– Retrofitting;
– Water management devices;
– Billing data clean-up; and
– Check demand management zones boundary discreteness.
In September, the metro issued a warning to residents and businesses to use water sparingly, due to a rate of water consumption higher than the water system could provide.
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