NEWS RELEASE                                                                                            11 April 2002

CITY SET TO BE FIRST IN SOUTH AFRICA WITH PRE-PAID WATER SYSTEM                                                                                                              

Cape Town is in line to become the first city in South Africa to successfully introduce pre-payment for water, says the City of Cape Town’s Executive Committee member responsible for City Infrastructure, Councillor David Erleigh.  

Councillor Erleigh is confident that minor teething problems in a pilot project with pre-paid water systems can be ironed out and that pre-payment can in due course be installed throughout the city. 

A pilot project is continuing with 132 homes in the sub-economic area of Klipheuwel, and Councillor Erleigh says a second pilot project in a middle-income area of Durbanville is on the cards. 

“I am convinced that pre-payment for water, like electricity, is the right way to go once we have overcome the teething problems,” he said, ”The advantages far outweigh any disadvantages, but we need full buy-in from political leaders and all communities to ensure its success.” 

If the pre-payment system is more widely introduced, consumers in the informal settlements without proper infrastructure will in future also be able to buy tokens and slot them into water standpipes. 

Three units are used in the system. The consumer takes his or her smart card to the point-of-sale (the local store, for example) and purchases an amount of water, then the card is inserted into the prepayment electronic unit which communicates with an electronic unit in the meter box via radio frequency.  The solenoid valve then opens and water is dispensed. 

The pilot project in Klipheuwel was implemented in December 2001 with the co-operation and support of the vast majority of the residents.

Obvious advantages of the system include the fact that consumers can better manage their water consumption and their finances, that wastage is greatly reduced, and that accounts and arrears are eliminated. A further advantage for higher income groups is that water can be bought by credit card via the internet.  

Free basic water is supplied through the system and 200 litres of emergency water is available in the case of breakdowns.                                                                        

Disadvantages are the high cost of the units (R1 100 each excluding VAT) and the fact that smart cards can be lost and systems vandalised. 

Despite the provisional liquidation of the supplier of the systems, the City of Cape Town Council has voted to continue with the Klipheuwel project. The City has also agreed to consider wider application of the project.   

Councillor Erleigh said a major problem to be overcome was the current restraint on budgets.  

“We would like to enter into partnerships or some other arrangement with suppliers, and will be investigating this option,” he said.

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