FITTING THOUGHT
1
War on Leaks
runs dry
For all the pages of newsprint devoted to climate change, there
appears to be precious little genuine interest in the subject when it
requires putting up real money. The pages of this February issue of
Plumbing Africa have two articles (in addition to this one) which
indirectly talk to the subject.
We consider in one article whether installing
a solar water heating system should be only a
financial decision, or also an ethical or moral
one. It appears that homeowners, despite much
breast-beating and righteous indignation at
every latest natural disaster, put finance and
convenience far ahead of morality when installing
a geyser. When it matters most, getting the hot
water back on as cheaply as possible trumps any
other consideration. Only the more aware, affluent
sectors apparently install solar water heating
systems simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Then there’s an article in the News section in which
we report how close community leak repair operation
WASSUP came to closing down last year due to
intermittent finance issues, saved at the 11th hour only by
the benevolence of Plumblink.
And finally, this editor’s column looks at the gross wastage
of water from leaking taps and toilets, and the collapse of
government’s War on Leaks campaign, introduced with
much fanfare to address this precise issue.
Research shows that in the UK homeowners hesitate days
before calling in a plumber for a leaking toilet and even
longer before doing anything about a leaking tap. A survey
commissioned by the Water Regulation Advisory Scheme
(WRAS), found that 27% of Brits would wait over a week
to fix a dripping tap – the equivalent of 168ℓ of wasted
water. The WRAS survey also found that 22% of Brits
would wait in excess of four days to fix a leaky loo which
can waste up to 400ℓ of water a day.
In South Africa, where so many households don’t even pay
for their water, we can imagine how much more time will
pass before residents take any action, if ever. Four days
might not seem like a long time to wait before fixing a
plumbing problem, but this level of delay can lead to huge
water wastage, as well as potential damage to the home
February 2020 Volume 25 I Number 12
and increased bills. Both WASSUP and War on Leaks seek
to address this challenge. We all have a duty to use water
more wisely and to consider the impact we have on the
environment. When a plumbing problem first arises, a
quick call to an IOPSA-approved plumber can not only give
residents peace of mind but also help ease the burden
on the environment. The plumbing profession needs to
hammer this point remorselessly.
Government’s R3-billion War on Leaks project to fix
leaking taps and pipes, especially in the townships, is
nearing collapse. The project also intended to produce
15 000 artisans to curb water wastage, that cost the
economy R7-billion annually – but they have not been paid
their stipends for several months.
It is likely that the Department of Human Settlements,
Water and Sanitation has quietly dumped the failing
programme, lacking money which government would
rather pay to bail out SAA.
Problems started surfacing in the project in 2017 when
reports emerged that trainees recruited for the first phase,
after completing theory at colleges, languished at home
because they could not be placed at companies as the
project began to fall apart. Trainees, meant to receive
R2 500 monthly and now owed four to six months,
have been left in the dark about the non-payment. The
department has ignored their queries, it seems, though
never officially announced the project’s demise.
Meanwhile, water leaks continue to cost the country
billions of rand. A report that the department handed over
to the National Assembly a year ago says 36.8% of the
country’s water was lost due to leaks, translating to
R7.2-billion. PA
Eamonn
Eamonn Ryan, Editor
[email protected]
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