Water is both a human right and a valuable commodity. Access to water for the rural poor is an international development concern that has been highlighted by the Millennium Development Goals adopted at the Millennium Summit in 2000 in Dublin, Ireland. South Africa's Free Basic Water policy is the government's response to assuring access to water for all - especially those who cannot pay. The policy, however, is required to work within an economic framework that promotes cost recovery and privatisation. The Free Basic Water Policy was officially implemented in July 2001. The policy was rolled out in most urban areas on or near this date. However, in rural areas it has proven much more difficult, and there are many areas that have not yet seen the implementation of Free Basic Water (FBW). This is partly due to varying financial, technical, political and logistical problems at the local and district municipality level. This research investigates the current situation in rural municipalities, looking specifically at FBW policy, institutional arrangements, operation and maintenance costs, cost per capita and affordability in relation to the Equitable Share allocations. Five case studies - compiled through interviews, document analyses, Participatory Rural Appraisal, and workshops provide a broad scale research base from which to analyse the current implementation of FBW in rural municipalities and ascertain whether this policy is affordable at this level. Water Service Authorities (WSA) are at varying levels of implementation, with few having a fully operational policy that is reaching rural areas. A costing exercise revealed that the service delivery price of water varies, but does follow a trend. From this trend a benchmark cost per capita of R5.84/month was determined. This price, although low, is not currently affordable in some municipalities due to insufficient government grants from National Treasury. These grants are fundamental to the sustainability of FBW and the situation must be resolved if FBW is to reach its target market - the poorest of the poor. The mixed success in the implementation of Free Basic Water in rural areas of South Africa should not be taken as indicative of future trends. As the local government transition to newly devolved powers and functions is completed, the capacity at this level to resolve the challenges is more likely. Subject to the continued strength of the South African economy, this policy could be a solution to the historical failure of service delivery to rural areas. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This project developed a model for effective asset management drawn from successful programs in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Asset management practices were examined at the City of Ontario Utilities Department; a medium sized utility, and also at the Rainbow Municipal Water District, a small sized utility. Gaps between the ideal model and the existing practices were investigated.

Water is essential for life, and access to sources of safe water and sanitation facilities is a first-order concern for economic welfare and general well-being. While the majority of residents in developing countries have access to improved water and sanitation services, many parts of the developing world lag significantly behind in this vital infrastructure. This dissertation studies policies aimed at increasing access, quality, and efficiency of improved water and sanitation (WS) services in developing countries. In the following three chapters, I focus on non-technological methods for improving service by eliminating the economic, political, and institutional barriers to safe water and sanitation provision. Chapter 1, “The Buck Stops Where? Federalism and Investment in the Brazilian Water and Sanitation Sector”, shows how weak institutions can undermine public goods service when multiple levels of government share responsibility of provision. In particular, I study how legal ambiguities regarding degrees of governmental authority can lead to systematic underinvestment in public utilities. I examine the Brazilian water and sanitation (WS) sector, which presents an natural experiment of shared provision between state and municipality entities. I look at a legal reform that clarified the relationship between municipalities and states in a quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences framework, using an administrative, municipality-level panel dataset from 2001-2012. I find that when expropriation risk by state companies diminished - self-run municipalities almost doubled their WS network investment. This increase in investment led to a significant increase in access to the WS system in these municipalities. The analysis provides strong evidence that reforms that strengthen residual control rights and eliminate the threat of intra-governmental expropriation can lead to large increases in public goods investment. Chapter 2, “The Role of Basic Sanitation Plans on Service Provision: Evidence from Brazil”, investigates non-technological methods of increasing access to improved water and sanitation (WS) in developing countries. In particular, it presents evidence of the efficiency gains that can be achieved in municipal water provision through the act of formulating and carrying out basic sanitation plans. I exploit the staggered roll-out in implementation of basic sanitation plans throughout municipalities in southern Brazil from 2007-2013. I find that, in the three years after the enactment of sanitation plans, municipalities increased the efficiency of their respective water systems through the tightening up of “leakages" in the system, both in terms of water distribution and bill payment. However, I find no significant increases in the degree of individual access to the systems, suggesting that in the relatively short-run, providers focus on improving the existing system as opposed to building out new infrastructure. Chapter 3, “(Not So) Gently Down The Stream: River Pollution and Health in Indonesia”, addresses the fact that waterborne diseases are the leading cause of mortality in developing countries. We emphasize a previously ignored cause of diarrhea - upstream river bathing. Using newly constructed data on upstream-downstream hydrological linkages along with village census panel data in Indonesia, we find that upstream river bathing can explain as many as 7.5% of all diarrheal deaths. Our results, which are net of avoidance behavior, show no effect of trash disposal on diarrheal infections. Furthermore we find that individuals engage in avoidance behavior in response to trash disposal (visible pollutants) but not river bathing (invisible pollutants). We conduct policy simulations to show that targeting upstream individuals could generate substantial environmental and health savings relative to targeting downstream individuals. This provides a potential road map for low- and middle-income countries with limited resources for enforcement of water pollution.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African municipalities are under pressure to improve the current state of the water andwastewater service delivery industry. Knowing that there exists a need for improvement within the municipal water and wastewater industry, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) launched a municipal strategic self-assessment (MuSSA) initiative to evaluate the business health of the industry. MuSSA asks high level technical management staff five key questions about sixteen key business attribute areas. This study seeks to determine if theMuSSA data can be used to aid municipal decision making, by way of drawing correlations between key performance indicators contained in the MuSSA questions. The correlations are to bring forth areas thatmust be focussed on to improve selected attribute areas requiring attention within municipalities. Three areas have been chosen from theMuSSA data to be investigated in this research project namely; (i)staff skill levels and capacity, (ii)non-revenue water and (iii)the execution of planned water services activities. In the MuSSA questionnaire there are questions addressing each of (i), (ii) and (iii) to determine the municipality’s performance in each of the three areas. Non-parametric statistics are used to determine with which of the MuSSA questions’ answers the relevant questions’ answers significantly correlate for (i), (ii) and (iii). Engineering judgement and expert opinion are used to determine if the questions correlating with the relevant questions for (i), (ii) and (iii) either affect, are affected by or have no relation with the question. These results are then organized using a flow diagram and are discussed in detail by way of a bivariate histogramof each correlation. The investigation revealed that municipalities not having sufficient technical management capacity are not performing well on at least one of the five questions asked on eleven of the sixteen MuSSA business attributes. The skill level of water and wastewater treatment works staff were found to be strongly affected by technical management capacity and skill, water services planning and financial sustainability of the organization. Municipalities training technical management and operational staff showed a high percentage of skilled operational staff employed at treatment works. Water and wastewater treatment works staff capacity are very dependent of the level of skill and capacity of technical management employed by the municipality. Municipalities having appropriate budgets and funding to appoint and train staff showed a tendency to be better at operational staff capacity building than those lacking funding. The reduction of non-revenue water (NRW) showed strong correlations with technical management and network operational repair staff skills and development. Municipalities employing staff with correct skills and experience combined, with commitment from management to reduce NRW by way of monitoring and practicing of pressuremanagement programs, significantly reduced NRW percentages. Equally crucial to the reduction of NRW, as revealed from the investigation, is the practicing of infrastructure asset management within the municipality. It was concluded that municipalities should strive to reach a NRW percentage of 30% or less to become financially stable, due to correlation between funding of routine operations and building up of cash reserve versus NRW percentages. Municipalities wanting to improve the execution rate of planned water services activities are recommended to address, among other factors, technical management skill levels and capacity. Municipalities lacking technical management skill and capacity reported a low percentages of planned activities being executed. Also of high significance, is the technical operational staff skill levels and capacity, due to their involvement in the execution of planned activates. The involvement of council members in water and wastewater planning and the reporting of data and issues to council greatly enhancesmunicipalities’ abilities to execute planned activities. This can mainly be contributed to increased funding in situations where council members support planned projects. The lack of funding was found to be a major inhibitor of the execution of planned activities. Even though a great deal of municipalities indicated that they are effectively spending allocated budgets, this positive indication is not seen in the percentage municipalities executing planned activities and leads to the conclusion that there is a lack of funding. Municipalities taking actions in other areas of their business such as infrastructure assetmanagement and planning were more effective at executing planned activities. In all, it was concluded that technicalmanagement and operational staff skill levels and capacity need to be present for amunicipality to function properly. Municipalities also are in need of funding to execute planned activities and need to become financially self sustainable. One way of working towards the goal of financial self sustainability is the reduction of NRW percentages. The data from this investigation shows great similarity with the literature consulted on the current state and functioning of South African municipalities. The statistical analysis of the MuSSA data accurately revealed correlations among key performance indicators in municipalities. The conclusion can be drawn that investigation of correlations amongMuSSA questions can be used to help aid municipal decision making. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrikaanse munisipaliteite is onder druk om die huidige toestand van die water en afvalwater dienslewering te verbeter. Met die wete dat daar ’n behoefte vir verbetering in die munisipale water en afvalwater bedryf is het dieDepartement vanWaterwese ’n munisipale strategiese self-assessering (MuSSA) projekte geïnisieer omdie welstand van die bedryf te evalueer. MuSSA vra hoë vlak tegniese bestuurs personeel vyf kern vrae oor sestien sleutel besigheids aspekte. Hierdie studie poogomvas te stel of dieMuSSA data gebruik kan word om munisipale besluitneming te help verbeter, deur middel van die evaluering van korrelasies tussen die sleutel prestasie aanwysers soos vervat in MuSSA vrae. Die korrelasies bring na vore gebiede waar op gefokus moet word om geselekteerde kenmerk areas binne munisipaliteite, wat aandag vereis, te verbeter. Drie areas uit die MuSSA-data is ondersoek in hierdie navorsings projek naamlik; (i) personeel vaardigheidsvlakke en kapasiteit, (ii) nie-inkomste water en (iii) die uitvoering van die beplande waterdienste aktiwiteite. In die MuSSA vraelys is daar vrae wat elk van (i), (ii) en (iii) aanspreek om die munisipaliteit se prestasie op die drie gebiede te monitor. Nie-parametriese statistiek word gebruik om die oorblywendeMuSSA vrae wat se antwoorde met die relevante vrae se antwoorde korreleer vir (i), (ii) en (iii) vas te stel. Kundigheid en oordeel van ingenieurs word gebruik om te bepaal of die vrae wat korreleer met die relevante vrae vir (i), (ii) en (iii) die relevante vraag beïnvloed, beïnvloed word deur die relevante vraag of geen verhouding het met die relevante vraag nie. Hierdie resultate word dan georganiseer met behulp van ’n vloeidiagram en word in detail bespreek deur middel van ’n tweeveranderlike histogram van elke korrelasie. Die ondersoek het aan die lig gebring dat munisipaliteite wat nie genoegsame tegniese bestuurs kapasiteit het nie swak presteer op ten minste een van die vyf vrae van elf van die sestienMuSSA besigheid eienskappe. Die personeel vaardigheidsvlakke van water en afvalwater behandelings werke word sterk beïnvloed deur die tegniese bestuurskapasiteit en -vaardigheid, waterdienste beplanning en die finansiële volhoubaarheid van die organisasie. Munisipaliteite wat opleiding van tegniese bestuur en operasionele personeel uitvoer het ’n hoë persentasie van opgeleide operasionele personeel werksaam by suiweringswerke. Water en afvalwater behandelingswerke se personeelkapasiteit is baie afhanklik van die vlak van vaardigheid en kapasiteit van tegniese bestuur in diens van die munisipaliteit. Munisipaliteite met toepaslike begrotings en befondsing om personeel aan te stel en op te lei het ’n neiging om beter te presteer met kapasiteitsbou van operasionele personeel as die wat aan ’n gebrek ly van befondsing. Die vermindering van nie-inkomste water (NRW) het sterk korrelasies met tegniese bestuur en netwerkherstel personeelvaardighede en ontwikkeling. Munisipaliteite wat personeel met die korrekte vaardighede en ervaring in diens het, gekombineer met bestuur wat dit nastreef om NRW te verminder by wyse van monitering en uitvoering van druk beheer in water netwerke het aansienlik kleiner NRWpersentasies. Ewe noodsaaklik vir die vermindering van NRW, soos geopenbaar deur die ondersoek is die beoefening van interne infrastruktuur batebestuur deur diemunisipaliteit. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat munisipaliteite daarna moet streef om ’n NRW persentasie van 30% of minder te bereik om finansieel stabiel te word, as gevolg van die korrelasie tussen befondsing van roetine bedrywighede en die opbou van kontant reserwe teenoor NRWpersentasies. Munisipaliteitewat die uitvoeringskoers van beplande waterdienste aktiwiteitewil verbeter, word aanbeveel om onder andere, tegniese bestuurs vaardigheids vlakke en kapasiteit aan te spreek. Munisipaliteite wat nie tegniese bestuursvaardigheid en -kapasiteit het nie, berig dat ’n lae persentasie van beplande aktiwiteite uitgevoer word. Die tegniese operasionele personeel vaardigheidsvlakke en kapasiteit, as gevolg van hul betrokkenheid in die uitvoering van beplande aktiwiteite is ook van groot belang. Die betrokkenheid van lede van die raad by water en afvalwater beplanning en die rapportering van data en kwessies aan die raad verhoog baiemunisipaliteite se vermoëns om beplande aktiwiteite uit te voer. Dit kan hoofsaaklik toegeskryf word aan verhoogde befondsing in situasies waar raadslede beplande projekte ondersteun. Dit is gevind dat die gebrek aan befondsing ’n groot inhibeerder van die uitvoering van beplande aktiwiteite is. Alhoewel ’n meerderheid van die munisipaliteite aangedui het dat hulle begrotings effektief spandeer, word dit egter nie weerspieël in die persentasie munisipaliteite wat beplande aktiwiteite uivoer nie en lei dit tot die gevolgtrekking dat daar n gebrek aan befondsing is. Munisipaliteite wat klem lê op ander gebiede van hul besigheid soos, infrastruktuur batebestuur en beplanning was meer effektief met die uitvoering van die beplande aktiwiteite. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat tegniese bestuur en operasionele personeel vaardigheidsvlakke en kapasiteit noodsaaklik is vir ’n munisipaliteit om behoorlik te funksioneer. Daar is ook ’n behoefte aan befondsing by munisipaliteite om beplande aktiwiteite uit te voer en munisipaliteite moet finansieel onafhanklik en lewensvatbaar word. Een manier om te werk te gaan om finansiële self volhoubaarheid te bereik, is die vermindering van NRW persentasies. Die data van hierdie ondersoek toon groot ooreenkomste met die literatuur wat geraadpleeg is oor die huidige stand en funksionering van Suid-Afrikaanse munisipaliteite. Die statistiese analise van die MuSSA data het akkurate korrelasies geopenbaar tussen die sleutel prestasie-aanwysers inmunisipaliteite. Die gevolgtrekking kan gemaak word dat die ondersoek in terme van die korrelasie tussen MuSSA vrae gebruik kan word om munisipale besluitneming te help verbeter.

South African legislation, as summarised in The Strategic Framework for Water Services (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, 2003), makes local authorities responsible for all water services to individual consumers. As Water Services Authorities (WSAs), municipalities must appoint Water Services Providers (WSPs) to implement water services. The legislation allows a range of organisations to act as WSPs. The Strategic Framework also lays down norms and standards with regards to continuity of water supplies and water quality. The country has adopted a policy of "Free Basic Water", which requires WSAs to provide a basic level of services free of charge. Six kilolitres per household per month is the norm adopted by most municipalities. In deciding on the institutional arrangements for the provISIon of water serVIces, municipalities need to decide what functions, if any, to outsource. Most international literature that reviews experiences of the International Water Decade advocates community management of rural water supplies, pointing to failures of government run, centralised management of rural schemes. A strong reason given for choosing community management is the sense of "ownership" this gives to local communities. Traditional theories on management by government organisations use a "steering" model, in which the government sets the course for policy and administrators implement the policies decided upon. Since the 1980s, a new paradigm for analysing government has emerged, emphasising the limits to governments' power to act as it wishes. The new model is one of networks of various interdependent organisations, often with the government at the centre. Such a model can be used to depict organisational relationships in rural areas of South Africa. In the early 1990s, a number ofNGOs implemented rural water schemes using the community management approach. However, after the passing of legislation making municipalities WSAs, very few municipalities have seriously considered community management, or any formal role for local community based organisations. Efforts to assess the effectiveness of municipalities' water service delivery IS severely hampered by a lack of usable data. Since starting to take responsibility for water schemes from DWAF and other bodies in 2000, municipalities have struggled to manage service delivery effectively, largely due to a shortage of management and technical skills. Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM) is one of the poorest municipalities in the country, with high levels of poverty. Approximately 50% of the rural population have adequate water services, that is 25 litres per person available within 200 metres of the household (Smith, 2006). The operation of services is paid mainly from the municipality's equitable share from national government. This report attempts to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of community management of rural water supplies. This is done by examining ANDM's community management model as a case study. The roles and responsibilities of various actors in the programme were analysed by interviewing the Support Services Agents (SSAs) engaged to co-ordinate the programme. The effectiveness of the water services were analysed using the SSAs' monthly reports, and this was compared with other available data. The experiences of other rural municipalities were also examined, focusing on their experiences with community participation. The model used by ANDM consisted of a water committee or board for each water scheme, which supervised the work of local operators and administrators. Operators carried out minor repairs, while the SSAs did monthly servicing of pumps and motors, and implemented major repairs, largely by supervising local operators and casual labourers. Committees submitted monthly reports to the SSAs, which were used as a basis for reports from the SSAs to the municipality. SSAs also reported on water quality. The figures for continuity of supply (measuring the operability of the infrastructure) varied considerably between the three SSAs. A possible reason for low figures from one SSA was that the figures also reflected water shortages in some schemes. Figures for water quality varied more than those for continuity, leading to a concern about the extent to which sampling and testing procedures were standardised. The figures were compared with figures from attitude surveys on water services recording consumers' perceptions about continuity of supply. The difference in data being measured, and concerns about the meaning of the figures from the SSAs' reports make direct comparisons impossible. However, the data indicates that for schemes served by two of the SSAs at least, a reasonably effective service was rendered. The cost to the municipality of providing water services was R4,19 per person per month, a relatively low figure compared with other municipalities. The four KwaZulu-Natal District Municipalities interviewed all reported negative experiences with community management of rural schemes that they inherited, and all four have opted for a centralised system, one using a partnership with a water board. None of the four municipalities had systematic data on continuity of service. Despite the difficulties in comparing the performance of ANDM to that of other municipalities, it is clear that the system employed by the municipality to use community management with the support of external consultants and NGOs was workable, sustainable and efficient. The participation of local community organisations assisted in some of the common problems that beset rural water schemes such as vandalism and water wastage. The report recommends that: • Municipalities with remote rural water schemes seriously consider community management as an effective and efficient delivery mechanism. • Where community management is employed, it is backed up with effective managerial and technical support. • The Alfred Nzo District Municipality reinstate the contracts with external Support Services Agents, which were the basis of effective management of and reporting on its rural water supply programme, unless equivalent internal capacity has been acquired to do the work done by the Support Services Agents. • Water Services Providers be required by water services authorities to submit regular data on service availability, continuity of supply and water quality, and Water Services Authorities in turn be required to submit similar data to DWAF. • DWAF issues guidelines on how proper separation of regulation and implementation roles be effected between WSAs and WSPs respectively when the WSP function is carried out internally. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2016 / The Newcastle Local Municipality (NLM) has been experiencing water supply interruptions since 2010 due to high demand. Between June 2011 to December 2011, water losses ranged from 49% to 62% (about 23 to 30 megalitres per day) in Madadeni and Osizweni townships (Newcastle East). The suburban areas (i.e. Newcastle West) also experienced water interruptions due to collapsing and/or aging infrastructure. About a thousand households in Madadeni were involved in this study to find the cause of the high water losses. Awareness campaigns, repairing household leaks, installation of intelligent meters and the increase of free basic water in indigent households from 6kℓ to 12kℓ per month reduced water losses from about 246 kℓ to 177kℓ per month. If similar Water Conservation (WC) and Water Demand Management (WDM) could be rolled out to the 35 000 households in the NLM and similar results to those in Madadeni are attained, conservative water saving of about 21Mℓ per day could be achieved. This would reduce the demand on the Ngagane Water Treatment Works (WTW) by 20%. / CK2018

A research report submitted to the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, Johannesburg, 2017 / Human beings depend on water not only for life itself but also for their economic wellbeing. Water resources play a cardinal role in the creation of everything that human beings produce. Post-apartheid South Africa is in the throes of incredible challenges. One of the more important challenges is access for all citizens to basic services. South Africa is doing this against a backdrop of strongly differential servicing that is its apartheid legacy, which has prompted many commentators to label South Africa a country of two worlds, more specifically, a developed world component and an impoverished developing world component. The challenge with respect to water is to ensure universal access in the context of the added hurdle of South Africa being a water-scarce country. The local municipalities of the Eastern Cape have been facing a number of challenges in the provision of clean, portable water to their communities. This has resulted in inadequate provision of water, meaning that not all communities have access to clean water 24 hours a day The overall objective for this study is to contribute to the body of knowledge available to the water sector about the management of sustainable water supply systems in municipalities, and determine the factors that have undermined the sustainability of water provision at a local government municipal level in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In this research, the effectiveness of local governments, which act as water services authorities (WSA) and providers of water to the rural communities, is examined. To this end, a comprehensive literature review was conducted and data gathered to discover why there has been a failure in the provision of clean drinking water. The results of the research illustrate that institutional incapacity in rural municipalities and widespread poverty serve to undermine the sustainability of the local government sector and lead to breakdowns in services delivery. Measures are proposed that can be adopted to improve the current approaches of water supply in local municipalities. / CK2018