Managing Unauthorised Water Connections in South Africa

1. Management of Unauthorised Connections in South Africa MASIBAMBANE COORDINATING COMMITTEE 24TH Feb 2011 Mark Bannister Department of Water Affairs

2. Definition • Unlawful connections: refers to connections (from bulk or distribution mains) that are not authorised or sanctioned by the municipality • Misused lawful connections: temporary or permanent -informal businesses (car washes and “spaza” shops etc ; water is drawn for unauthorised use from unmetered installations like fire hydrants. • Tampered or by-passed meter: primarily undertaken to evade payment for services where the consumers have been provided with a metered connection.

3. Typical Unlawful Connections

4. Typical Unlawful Connections

5. The South African Modified IWA Water Balance Structure

6. Non-Revenue Water Extent in Large Cities on Four Continents (2000)

7. Statistics • South Africa (2007) - volume of water lost from municipal systems was in the region of 28.8% of the input volume of 4 billion m3 per annum. • Of this volume, the total annual Non-Revenue Water was estimated at 1.43 billion m3 (35.8% of the total municipal system input excluding free basic water).

8. The Problem arises from… • inadequately monitored developments • lack of customer support • insufficient basic services • lack of understanding of the basic services obligation by some water services institutions • corruption and collusion • views on ownership of services • absence or lack of political will to enforce by-laws • lack of understanding of the problem and its impact

9. Benefit of Addressing the Problem • Income generation -revenue can be optimised by the financial gains from increased water sales or reduced water production • Possibly defer costly infrastructure expansions • Can be cost-effective and offer fast pay back; • Technically simpler to address unauthorised consumption when compared to reducing real losses • Ignoring unlawful acts cannot be equitable or fair to consumers who pay for their water • It promotes the culture of good governance and accountability; • It would promote increased knowledge of the water system and thus improve its integrity.

10. Ingredients for success… • Problem conceptualisation • Political will • Institutional capacity: • Financial capacity. • Enabling instruments • Conducive environment: • Communication: • Integration

11. Core Approaches • Problem context: • Progressive approach: • Localised strategy: . • Manageable areas • User category distinction: • Amnesty approach: • Public involvement: • Monitoring and evaluation. • Enforcement:

12. ENABLING POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK • Constitutional Mandate • Water Services Related Instruments • Strategic Framework for Water Services • The Water Services Act • The Water Services Model By-laws • Local Government Related Instruments • The Municipal Systems Act • The Municipal Finance Management Act

13. Overview of the Intervention Process

14. Conclusion • SA national government’s target - to reduce losses by 20% by 2014. • A robust policy and legal framework exists • Important instruments required • by-laws • the water services provider’s conditions for the provision of services • planning and monitoring mechanisms • municipal budget • water services development integrated development plans • key performance indicators • National government can provide the enabling environment and instruments, municipalities bear the legal responsibility to implement measures to address the problem. • The Guideline will assist responsible Water Sector stakeholders to manage their Unauthorised Connections and therefore reduce water losses and contribute towards affective Water Demand Management

15. Thank You(bannisterm@dwa.gov.za)