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The Republic of South Africa embarked on devolution of specific powers to municipal authorities due to the fact that municipalities are a sphere of government which is at the door step of the citizens. Among the powers that were devolved was the authority to regulate on the rendering of water and services to communities. From now henceforth in this study, water and sanitation services will be referred to as water services. The rural villages that had no access to water services during the previous dispensation were rapidly rendered with these services when the transformed Department of Water Affairs and Forestry took a decision to provide the services on its own in order to give space for the transformation of the local sphere of government such that these municipal X authorities are able to manage the load of the allocation of such functions mainly and to close the vacuum so that there is no gap as to who should be responsible for water provision in rural villages whilst the restructuring of municipalities to include the rural villages as part of the transformation process takes place. A decline in the pace rendering water services to the previously disadvantaged rural communities was noticed after the devolution of water services to municipal authorities and by implication once hands were changed. This left those rural communities that had no access to water services still without the desired water services and those that had water services provided left midway with dry water schemes and dysfunctional infrastructure. This study therefore seeks to uproot the cause for the deceleration of water services once it was devolved to municipal authorities. This decline was noticed by the researcher hence the study seeks to attempt providing alternatives and lasting solutions primarily because water services are essential services and water is life. The main objective of the study is to investigate factors that cause the deceleration of water supply and the slow movement in the acceleration of sanitation services in order to provide alternatives that may yield results. Given the above broad objective this study further aims at examining the following factors: The correlation in funding made available by the central government and the financial resources available to municipalities to perform the function in order to render this service properly. Technical support available to municipalities. Relevant legislation, its policies and its impact on the implementation of the service XI. The correlation between accountability, democratization and community participation on standards and quality of the service to actual outputs. Improvement of service delivery and its relationship with transparency and efficiency. Relatedness of poverty to non provision of water services. The relatedness of poverty, lack of basic services to influx in the cities. Relatedness of the quality of the water services to the outbreak of diseases

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The aim of the study was to examine the challenges of water supply management in Umdoni Local Municipality. Two methods were employed to collect data in the study. The first method involved one-on-one interviews with the participants. An interview guide was used to obtain data pertaining water supply services from a water services manager, a municipal manager and ten (10) ward councillors. The second method entailed analysis of documents within the municipality. In this study findings were based on issues such as prioritization of effective water supply for Umdoni Local Municipality, community consultation and participation, addressing capacity constrains in the Municipality such as human resources, water service infrastructure and skills development. The underlying causes of the water supply problems are based on the basic infrastructure, provision of water supply being very poor and dismal across the area. Water serves as a basic need to which everybody has the right to access, however, water supply is unfortunately disrupted by many factors. The findings in this study shows that poor water supply emanates from many factors such as management skills, technical challenges and illegal connections. This study recommends that Umdoni Local Municipality has additions of water plants, building of new reservoirs and upgrades of water pipes, especially in Amahlongwa area as it needs urgent attention.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) can be defined as collaboration between governments, development partners and civil society. It promotes coordination of various donor funded programmes to align with a common sector vision. In the case of South Africa, a water sector SWAP was introduced in 2000. Funds were directed to municipalities that were providing water known as Water Services Authorities (WSAs). This study examines the impact of the SWAP on tangible water delivery issues in Ukhahlamba District Municipality, Eastern Cape. The literature reviewed focuses on rural development in South Africa, and abroad. The quantitative aspect of the research considered various sources including primary data from municipal records of water services provision. Interviews were held with community members, municipal and provincial government officials. Analysis of information from these sources indicates some aspects of water delivery were positive and some negative. Recommendations for improvement and further research are made in the last chapter. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Water is an indispensible and yet a difficult resource to be renewed, thus water scarcity has become one of the major challenges faced worldwide, with the Southern regions of Africa being the most impacted and affected, especially the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa where rural communities depend on receiving waterbodies that are often negatively impacted by wastewater final effluents. This present study was conducted between August and December 2010 to assess the physicochemical and microbial qualities of the final effluents of peri-urban and rural communities based wastewater treatment plants in the Eastern Cape Province. The physicochemical parameters were determined on site and in the laboratory, while bacteriological qualities were determined using culture based techniques. The virological qualities were determined by molecular methods using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for the target RNA virus and the conventional polymerase chain reaction for the target DNA virus. For both wastewater treatment plants, the physicochemical parameters ranged as follows: chemical oxygen demand (5.95-45 mg/L); total dissolved solids (114.5-187.0 mg/L); salinity (0.12-0.20 psu); temperature (14.2-25.7oC); pH (6.0-7.6); nitrate and nitrites (1.55-6.7 mg/L and 0.023-1.15 mg/L respectively); biological oxygen demand (3.5-7.8 mg/L); turbidity (1.49-6.98 NTU); and chlorine residual (0-2.97 mg/L). Feacal indicator bacteria counts ranged as follows: feacal coliforms (0-1.25×104 cfu/100 ml); total coliforms (0-3.95×104 cfu/100 ml); and enterococci (0-5.0×103 cfu/100 ml). xviii Seventy five percent of the rural community based plant and 80 percent of the peri-urban community based plant were positive for coxsackie A virus, while hepatitis A virus was detected in all the rural community based plant 80 percent of the peri-urban community based plant. This study suggests the need for intervention by appropriate regulatory agencies to ensure regular monitoring of the qualities of final effluents of wastewater treatment facilities in the Eastern Cape Province and ensure compliance to established guidelines.

Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) can be defined as collaboration between governments, development partners and civil society. It promotes coordination of various donor funded programmes to align with a common sector vision. In the case of South Africa, a water sector SWAP was introduced in 2000. Funds were directed to municipalities that were providing water known as Water Services Authorities (WSAs). This study examines the impact of the SWAP on tangible water delivery issues in Ukhahlamba District Municipality, Eastern Cape. The literature reviewed focuses on rural development in South Africa, and abroad. The quantitative aspect of the research considered various sources including primary data from municipal records of water services provision. Interviews were held with community members, municipal and provincial government officials. Analysis of information from these sources indicates some aspects of water delivery were positive and some negative. Recommendations for improvement and further research are made in the last chapter. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The rural areas of Amathole district municipality continue to experience difficulty in accessing water services. The people experience problems despite the fact that the Amathole district municipality, since 2003 has been made a water service authority in its municipal area, which consists of eight local municipalities, namely; Mnquma, Mbashe, Nkonkobe, Amahlathi, Great Kei, Ngqushwa, Nxuba, and Buffalo City. With the water service authority powers devolved from national government to the district municipalities the intention was to speed service delivery. This study investigates the causes of the delays in water service delivery experienced in rural areas of this district municipality. The Buffalo City local municipality is excluded in the study because Buffalo City has as well been given the responsibility of being the water service authority in its municipal area. This study used the questionnaires as data collection tool, and it was distributed to these respondents; chief officials, councilors, and citizens. Due to vastness of the target population sampling was used to reduce the bulkiness of the data. The questionnaire content is based on the phases of the systems theory to see if the policy making processes of the Amathole district municipality are carried out in accordance with the systems theory. The study has found that the citizens are not adequately involved in all the policy processes including the policy analysis and evaluation. This has been found to be a contributory factor in the ineffectiveness of the municipality water service delivery.The spheres of government that operate in silos compromised policy analysis and evaluation of the municipality, and disjuncture of the delivery programs of the spheres and state enterprises caused a huge service delivery challenges for this municipality. The study has confirmed that the Amathole district municipality is experiencing problems, delays, and challenges that make it to be ineffective as a water service authority.

MESHWR / Department of Hydrology and Water Resources / Lebalelo area of Sekhukhune district is one of many areas in South Africa experiencing portable water scarcity, especially during prolonged dry season. Due to the dominance of low yielding aquifers in South Africa, it is essential to manage groundwater resources in these low yielding aquifers. However, the management of low yielding aquifer is difficult in areas like Labelelo where the hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifers are understudied. This study investigated the hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifers in the area using combined geophysical method and analytical groundwater models. Four newly drilled borehole and five existing boreholes were used for this study. Geophysical survey was carried out using magnetic and electromagnetic methods. The magnetic survey was used to locate the position of magnetic bodies such as dolerite dykes and different lithologies with different magnetic properties. The electromagnetic survey however, was used to determine zones of high permeability associated with the intrusive bodies as well as high permeability zones in fault planes. Step test, constant discharge test and recovery tests were conducted on all the boreholes to stress the borehole. This was used to determine a suitable and sustainable pumping rate of the aquifer. Pumping test data from the pumping period and recovery was evaluated and interpreted using AQTESOLVE. Aquifer transmissivity, storativity, internal and external hydraulic boundaries were determined from the data. The transmissivity in the area ranges from 0.08 to 124.7 m2/day. The aquifer types in the area are double porosity aquifer, radial flow aquifer with single porosity. Inductive Coupled Plasma (ICP-MS) was used to measure heavy metals, trace metals and cations while Ion Chromatography (IC) was used to determine anions in groundwater of the study area. The groundwater in the area is dominated by calcium carbonate as a result of long residence time with dolomite. The hydrochemistry of the water indicates that the chemistry of the groundwater in the area is mainly controlled by rock-water interaction. / NRF

LLM / Department of Public Law / Historically, there were enormous differences and inequalities with regard to service delivery in South Africa. Traceable to the apartheid period, these inequalities included, inter alia, supply of inadequate and safe drinking water for black communities in particular those at rural areas. Yet, water is an essential necessity for human beings, regardless of race, disability and social status. As a legislative measure to redress the injustices of the apartheid regime, the right to have access to sufficient water is entrenched in Section 27(1) (b) of the South African Constitution of 1996. Also, several legal instruments such as the National Water Act of 1998 and the Water Service Act of 1997 were enacted to uphold the human right to water. The Constitution bestowed the responsibility of water supply and management to the national, provincial and the local government. Despite its inadequacy, the South African government is addressing the water needs of the most impoverished communities by guaranteeing each household a free minimum quantity of potable water of 25 litres per person per day or 6 kiloliters per household per month. Any person who needs more will come under privatisation model which key provisions on the existing law favors. About 38.4% of the population of South Africa who reside in rural communities are poor and mostly affected by inadequate water service delivery in that they cannot afford payment for water in excess of the minimum for which no fees is charged. As a concept, affirmative action is generally used in the context of work places to ensure that qualified marginalized groups have equal opportunities to get a job, but it is not yet investigated in the context of water service delivery. This study assessed laws governing water service delivery and explored how affirmative action can be used as an instrument to ensure the delivery of potable water to rural population in South Africa.