Sean Molloy, general manager of Integrated Infrastructure
Services at GIBB Engineering & Architecture.
Water 2016/17 Unit Level 3 restrictions
Step 1 (>0 ≤6kℓ)
Step 2 (>6 ≤10.5kℓ)
Step 3 (>10.5 ≤20kℓ)
Step 4 (>20 ≤35kℓ)
Step 5 (>35 ≤50kℓ)
Step 6 (>50kℓ) /kℓ
/kℓ
/kℓ
/kℓ
/kℓ
/kℓ
(domestic full)
Would a carrot approach to saving water
not be better than the stick approach of
fining excessive water users?
SM: There is a carrot for saving water in the
stepped tariff model that most metros apply.
For example, a water-wise household of
five people using 200ℓ per person per day,
would consume 30kℓ per month. Their water
bill would be approximately R700 per month
(in Cape Town, which is the metro currently
with the biggest crisis). This is excluding
the sewer tariff, which is generally linked to
water consumption.
A similar household using 400ℓ per person
per day, would consume 60kℓ a month, and
pay R3 900 per month — an increase of more
than five times for double the usage. You
can, therefore, save significant amounts of
money by moderating your water usage. u
“This
unaccounted
water usage is
largely because
of water leaks
and unmetered
water usage.”
technology
resource and government cannot bear the
water burden alone. Water scarcity is a
significant societal challenge that needs
to be shared between governments, non-
governmental organisations, the private
sector, and society.
While we share your view that an
integrated approach is best, assuming we
have qualified people doing the work, does
this not include wetlands, dams, reservoirs,
rivers, and so on, most of which are
crumbling/dying because the Department
of Water and Sanitation has lost all the
skilled people but take in Cuban and Italian
engineers without registering them as the
law requires?
SM: The Department of Water and Sanitation,
like many of our public institutions and
local authorities, has significant capacity
constraints due to the lack of resources. We
believe there are alternative approaches
to addressing these problems that do not
involve bringing in engineers from outside
the country.
Ultimately, South Africans cannot afford
to ignore this country’s most threatened
Consequently, we have a bunch of untrained
people out there who now practice
plumbing, which is a long way from being
a plumber! What is the view on unqualified
people practising plumbing, and other
trades and professions causing more
problems than solutions?
SM: A project like this one can be
successful if the training is followed by
work under the guidance of a professional
and/or experienced plumber. The work
typically would be limited to leak repairs
at a household level in the beginning. For
example, taps, tap washer replacement,
and repairs to cisterns and small diameter
domestic pipes. The repair of leaks in large
diameter pipelines is much more complex,
and requires specific experience and
skills that would not be available to newly
trained people. It is also usually monitored
and managed by qualified engineers and
technicians. The trained people could be a
useful pool of resources to be used in an
integrated, strategically focused, and well-
managed water conservation programme.
Importantly, applying just one or two of
the above-mentioned solutions will not be as
effective as implementing all the solutions
together. To do this, the public sector might
consider kick-starting the process with a
three-year programme, calling for private
sector involvement. To achieve a sustainable
process, government would need to commit
to allocating the savings achieved to the
ongoing implementation of the programme.
SM: The programme was started relatively
recently and no reports on the outcomes that
we have access to are available, so I cannot
comment on the success or not of this
particular programme o