The City of Ekurhuleni has appointed 120 water ambassadors and recently added an additional 52 from Rand Water.
Nineteen of the 172 ambassadors are said to have been appointed from Springs.
According to Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe, the task of the ambassadors is to evaluate factors that contribute to water loss in Ekurhuleni.
He adds that the city has embarked on this initiative due to the significant effect the current drought and water losses have had on South Africa.
Gadebe says a quarter of the total loss is considered to be through leaks.
“The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) has taken this matter very seriously and has made a decision to implement the programme to conserve water loss,” says Gadebe.
“We also want to educate residents on how to report service interruptions, such as bust pipes, water meter leakages and illegal connections.”
So far, Gadebe says, 790 queries relating to service interruptions have been resolved as a result of the metro’s appointment of the ambassadors.
He adds that this particular initiative, as opposed to other methods of handling water loss issues, is driven by the metro’s mandate, which comprises water conservation, reduction of non-revenue water loss and to reduce the demand of water.
In terms of the long-term plan of the city to save water and lessen the amount of leaks, Gadebe outlines the following long-term objectives:
• to reduce non-revenue loss to below 25 per cent;
• to attend to all reported service interruptions within the turnaround strategy time;
• to be the leading metropolitan municipality for ”No Drop”;
• to maintain the ”Blue Drop” status of the metro.
Going forward, Gadebe gives the assurance that Springs residents can expect to see a noticeable difference with the implementation of this programme.
“Residents can expect rapid response to reported service interruptions, which will result in a reduction of water loss and sewer spills.
“Our mandate is to ensure that the metro improves on service delivery as a whole, as well as bridging the gap between us and our residents.”
