The Civil Engineering Contractor January 2019 | Page 27

TECHNOLOGY
Reducing non-revenue water:
A Delicate Balance: Water Scarcity in
South Africa states: “Although the
level of non-revenue water in South
Africa is on par with the global
average, it is significantly higher than
in other water-stressed countries.
For example, Australia has limited its
non-revenue water to roughly 10%.
If South Africa were to accomplish
a similar feat, it could reduce
total withdrawals in the country
by 1.1km 3 — or approximately
75% of total estimated industrial
withdrawals in 2017.”
Quick wins
Washington-based
Zachary
Donnenfeld, a senior researcher at
the Institute for Security Studies’
African Futures & Innovation,
www.civilsonline.co.za
outlines some quick wins that could
be obtained in resolving South
Africa’s water infrastructure crisis:
“The first priority, in my view, should
be to reduce consumption. There’s a
lot of dispute over the actual figure,
but little debate that per capita
water consumption in South Africa
is above the global average. This
is in a country where nearly three
million people don’t have access to
piped water and at least 10 million
people live in extreme poverty, with
who knows how many more living in
transitory poverty. This means that
‘luxury’ consumption is extremely
high. I think it’s imperative to have
water be very expensive for those
that can afford it, and very cheap
for those that can’t. This will help
raise revenue, but more importantly,
encourage a culture of conservation
around water use, which I think is
sorely lacking in South Africa at the
moment.
“The second quick win is to repair
wastewater treatment infrastructure.
This is also beneficial because it
helps restore water quality, which
appears to be deteriorating in parts
of the country,” says Donnenfeld. “I
think reducing non-revenue water is
a good idea, but it’s definitely only
part of the puzzle.
“My view is that the War on Leaks
is a classic example of a good idea
that was poorly implemented. If
37% of municipal water is lost
before it reaches the consumer and
three-quarters of that is from poor
infrastructure, then fixing leaky
pipes can get that figure down to
a very respectable number — in
terms of international comparisons.
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