Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa’s efforts to ensure safe drinking-water provision to all have resulted in an admirable reduction in the backlog in drinking-water provision since 1994. However, in the non-metro areas of South Africa poor drinking-water quality is common and, combined with inadequate sanitation, results in a significant and deleterious primary health impact. Given the South African government’s commitment to co-operative government and good governance, and a willingness to both mobilize government funds and to involve the private sector in addressing poor water services delivery by local government, it can be expected that a significant opportunity exists for a “service/product” combination that assists local, provincial and national government in both, (i), the progressive realization of suitable drinking-water quality via a consultative audit, and (ii), an environmental governance function to ensure that acute and chronic issues are timeously identified and resolved. Drinking-Water Quality Management (DWQM) procedures developed and operated by the government research organization, CSIR, have been shown to be effective in achieving (i) and (ii) above. However, CSIR is not the appropriate business environment from which to roll out a commercialized service. This study assesses the prospects of a start-up Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) to access and develop the DWQM market in South Africa. A thorough review of the role of governance in the delivery of water services in South Africa is provided, and it is confirmed that DWQM procedures can be expected to contribute towards improvement in drinking-water quality in non-metro South Africa and satisfy government’s requirement of demonstrated good governance (co-operative and regulatory governance) and co-operative government. A situational analysis of the internal (CSIR) and external business environment confirms that a win-win opportunity exists for entrepreneurs from within CSIR to “spin-out” the DWQM services, and thereby fulfill CSIR’s mandate of supporting SMME’s and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). A summary of considerations for a start-up SMME in South Africa emphasizes the importance of some key factors. A key factor for a SMME selling services to government is the satisfaction of BEE requirements. Additional key factors include the business marketing factors of customer relationship management, delivering value and ongoing evolvement of marketing strategy. A case study involving Stellenbosch Municipality is used to demonstrate the customer centric nature of DWQM, and the positive Value Impact delivered to the client. The above are used to critically consider a Business Action Plan (which has a focus on the first year of operation) and to identify amendments required for the future and separate preparation of a full Business Plan. The short term focused Business Action Plan (BAP) confirms that market forces and opportunities combine with the skills and the background of the start-up team to provide a positive prospect for the startup SMME. Conversion of the BAP to a fully fledged Business Plan will require the development of a full business strategy, and supportive marketing strategy, as the short term focus strategies are inadequate. Importantly, adjustments to the black equity holding should be brought in line with the requirements of the Broad-Based BEE Act. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika se deurlopende pogings om veilige drinkwater te verskaf het gesorg vir ‘n benydenswaardige vermindering in die agterstand in verskaffing van drinkwater sedert 1994. In die nie-metropolitaanse areas van Suid-Afrika is swak drinkwater gehalte egter steeds algemeen en is verantwoordelik, saam met ontoereikende sanitêre infrastruktuur, vir beduidende en dodelike primêre gesondheidsrisikos. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering is toegewyd tot samewerking met die private sektor en die toepassing van goeie besigheidsbeginsels. Dit is ook gewillig om regeringsfondse beskikbaar te stel indien die betrokkenheid van die privaat sektor kan help om swak waterdienste lewering deur die regering aan te spreek. Daar kan dus verwag word dat ‘n daadwerklike geleentheid bestaan om ‘n “diens/produk” kombinasie daar te stel wat plaaslike, provinsiale en nasionale regering sal bystaan in beide die: (i), progressiewe verwesenliking van geskikte gehalte drinkwater deur middel van ‘n konsultatiewe oudit, en (ii), ‘n omgewings oorsig funksie om te verseker dat akute en kroniese probleme tydig geidentifiseer en opgelos word. Drinkwater Gehalte Bestuur (DWGB) prosedures ontwikkel en toegepas deur die regeringsnavorsingseenheid, die WNNR, is bewys as effektief in die bereiking van (i) en (ii) soos hierbo gemeld. Die WNNR is egter nie ‘n geskikte besigheids-omgewing vir die wyer kommersiële toepassing en verskaffing van sodanige dienste nie. Hierdie studie evalueer die vooruitsigte van Klein, Medium en Mikro Ondernemings (SMME) om die DWGB mark in Suid-Afrika te betree en te ontwikkel. ‘n Deeglike oorsig van die rol van etiese bestuur in die verskaffing van waterdienste in Suid-Afrika word gedoen. Daar word bevestig dat DWGB prosedures na verwagting sal bydra tot die verbetering van drinkwater gehalte in die nie-metropolitaanse Suid-Afrika, maar ook sal voldoen aan die regering se vereistes van daadwerklike en sigbare etiese bestuur (samewerkings en regulatoriese etiese bestuur) en samewerking van die regering en derde partye. ‘n Omgewingsondersoek van die interne (WNNR) en eksterne sake omgewing bevestig dat ‘n wen-wen geleentheid bestaan vir entrepreneurs binne die WNNR om DWGB dienste af te stig, en sodoende ook vir die WNNR om sy mandaat te vervul, by name die ondersteuning van SMME’s en Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging (SEB). ‘n Opsomming van die saaklike kwessies vir die stigting van ‘n SMME in Suid-Afrika lei tot die identifisering van ‘n aantal sleutel suksesfaktore se belangrikheid. ‘n Sleutel suksesfaktor vir ‘n SMME, wat dienste aan die regering verkoop, is die voldoening aan SEB vereistes. Verdere sleutel suksesfaktore sluit in die sake bemarkingsfaktor van kliënte verhoudingsbestuur, die lewering van waarde en die volgehoue evolusie van bemarkingstrategie. ‘n Gevallestudie waarin Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit betrokke was word gebruik om die kliënt-gesentreerde toepassing van DWGB te demonstreer, en die positiewe waarde wat aan die kliënt gelewer is, word uitgelig. Laastens word die bogenoemde gebruik om ‘n kritiese evaluering te doen van ‘n Besigheids Aksie Plan (met ‘n fokus op die eerste jaar se bedrywighede). Veranderinge wat vereis sou word vir die voorbereiding van ‘n toekomstige en afsonderlike volledige Besigheids Plan word geidentifiseer. Die korttermyn gefokusde Besigheids Aksie Plan (BAP) bevestig dat marktendense en geleenthede tesame met die vaardighede en agtergrond van die Kleinsake-span ‘n positiewe verwagting skep vir die voornemende kleinsake-bedryf. Die omskakeling van die BAP na ‘n volledige Besigheids Plan vereis ‘n volle Sakestrategie en ‘n ondersteunende Bemarkingsplan, aangesien die korttermyn gefokusde strategieë ontoereikend is. Verdere aanpassings tot die swart aandeelhouding moet gedoen word om te voldoen aan die vereistes van die breëbasis SEB-wetgewing.

A project report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineerrng, / As has happened throughout the world. environmental and water quality problems related to developing urban and industrial areas and associated accumulation of waste in built-up areas were the main factors in contributing to sanitary awareness in South Africa. The dwindling water resources and persistent deterioration of water quality, more severely in urban areas, necessitates the review the current practice of storm water management in South Africa. Reliable stormwater drainage models evaluating both the water quantity and quality could be essential in confronting the prevailing pollution problems. The objective of this project was conceived to be the development of a system for the simulation of water quality in urban watercourses, A personal computer compatible model for joint transportation of hydrograph and pollutographs in open channels was developed. The model comprises an operational data handling facility, a user friendly and interactive interface. The study revealed that: Urban and Industrial development results in complication of the urban water system. • Single objectivity approaches in management of urban watercourses are outdated . .. The proposed model is capable of simultaneously routing flood and pollutant condiment waves in open channels. Understanding of aspects of the water quality in urban watercourse can be greatly enhanced by the proposed model. The following recommendations were henceforth made: • Detailed study of the nature. quantity and sources of pollutants in the urban water system. .. Sophisticated (dynamic wave. supercritical flow, complicated ..................... hydrodynamic model snould be considered, • Biological and, chemical process in the urban watercourse be incorporated. • Linking of the water quality model to the storm water drainage model, / Andrew Chakane 2018

Evaluating trends of historical rainfall on a weekly and seasonal basis is needed for optimizing the design and implementation of lawn water conservation strategies like outdoor water restrictions. While “day of the week” water restrictions are a typical strategy to limit the frequency and duration of urban lawn water use, they may not necessarily result in more conservative behaviors from end-users. Because weekly rainfall and local climate variables are seldom taken into account in water restriction strategies, they are not connected to actual lawn water demand. However, since lawn water demand is directly related to weekly rainfall totals, not to a particular number of watering days per week, water restriction schedules have the potential to unintentionally promote overwatering. This study investigated the weekly patterns of average seasonal rainfall and evapotranspiration in South Florida to determine the typical variability of weekly net irrigation needs and found that typical wet season weekly rainfall often provides a significant amount of water to meet the demand of residential lawns and landscapes. This finding underscores opportunity to reduce supplemental overwatering in residential landscapes if watering guidelines were modified to recognize seasonal average weekly rainfall in this region This study also tested a rainfall-based water conservation strategy to determine if providing residents with information about how local rainfall could promote more effective lawn watering behavior than just water restrictions alone. Experimental households reduced lawn water use by up to 61% compared to the control group by the end of the study. These results demonstrate that the neighborhood “rain-watered lawn” signs helped experimental study group households become more aware of rainfall as the primary input of water to their lawns. This study also investigated the role that lawn irrigation from self-supplied sources plays in the urban lawn water demand and investigates how the lawn water use and lawn watering behaviors of households that source from self-supply differ from those who source from the public supply. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges that hinder the Greater Tzaneen Municipality from rendering water service delivery to Mokgolobotho villagers and the villagers’ perceptions of their livelihoods without adequate municipal water supply. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research. Two groups of respondents participated in the study. The data was gathered from 100 respondents from Mokgolobotho village, and of the 100 respondents, 90 were residents from 30 households, 1 chief, 3 indunas, 1 ward councillor,3 ward committee members and 2 NGOs. The respondents from the community (households) were randomly sampled and a questionnaire was administered to them ,while those who participated in the interview were purposefully sampled. The scarcity of water at Mokgolobotho village has a negative impact on a number of aspects; the economic development of the village, the academic performance of learners, health of the community members is also at risk as they share water with animals (Mopani Herald, 2014:3) and it also increases the death rate caused by car accidents as villagers cross the R36 Lydenburg main road to get water at the Dan Extension 2 (Reconstruction and Development Programme Settlement). The Department of Water Affairs is very aware of the anomalies in water distribution, where people reside adjacent to water sources and yet have no access to a source of safe and reliable drinking water. Section 27 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution states that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water, and the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realization of this right. The Greater Tzaneen Municipality has failed to implement this section of the Bill of Rights at Mokgolobotho Village. The study recommends that the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate by the Greater Tzaneen Municipality and the active involvement of all the stakeholders will solve the water service delivery problem in Mokgolobotho Village.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2007 / The residents of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality experience numerous inequalities in relation to water services provision. Some of the residents protest towards the inequalities through refusal to pay for the water services. The confrontational non paying residents field questions which the municipality can hardly answer. The problem of refusal to pay is of the magnitude that recently the municipality had to go house-to-house pleading with the inhabitants to pay if the municipality was to continue to provide water services. The specific objectives of this study were three-fold: (1) to determine water service quality using residents’ perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, (2) to determine residents’ expectations and perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, and (3) to determine the residents’ perceptions on water service quality and customer satisfaction in Lebowakgomo using age, gender, qualification and suburb. A questionnaire comprising five dimensions, namely, tangibles, reliability, assurance, empathy and responsiveness, was compiled to collect data from three suburbs of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. The original sample size was 120, with 9 becoming spoiled due to missing data. The independent variables comprised age, qualification, suburb and gender. Most of the data were analysed for kurtosis and skewness and with the exception of one variable, the rest of the data did not conform to parametric analysis criteria. The major findings of this study indicated overall negative perceptions of residents’ on four dimensions of empathy, reliability, responsiveness and assurance on water service quality which implied that the residents were dissatisfied with the service and called on management to use SERVQUAL as a valid model of assessment to identify areas requiring immediate attention for service improvement. On the other contra positive it was revealed that the municipality was doing well on the tangibles dimension. ix The study recommended use of SERVQUAL in measuring quality of other services within the constitutional competencies of the municipality and further research to investigate age contribution to service quality.

Water-resource managers are facing unprecedented challenges in accommodating the large uncertainties associated with climate change in their planning decisions. Integration of climate risk information is a pre-requisite for water resources planning under a changing climate, yet this information is often presented outside the decision-making context and in a way which is not relevant for the decision at hand. Furthermore, there is a lack of approaches that explicitly evaluate the impact of nonstationary climate change on decision-relevant metrics and variables. This thesis describes novel methods for incorporating uncertain information on climate change in water resources decision-making and estimating climate change-related risks in water resources systems. The main hypotheses of this thesis are that: (1) shifting away from planning approaches based on abstract supply-demand balance metrics towards risk-based approaches that quantify the frequency and severity of observable outcomes of concern to water users, such as water shortages, can help decision-makers establish preferences among actions and identify cost and climate risk reduction trade-offs (2) adopting risk-based planning methods allows water managers to characterize and account for different sources of uncertainty in the water planning process and to understand their impact on outcomes of value and decisions. To test these hypotheses, this thesis presents an analytic approach for (1) incorporating nonstationary climate change projections and other uncertain factors related to demand changes into water resources decision-making, (2) understanding trade-offs between benefits of climate risk-reduction and cost of climate change adaptation, and (3) characterizing water supply vulnerability to unprecedented drought conditions. The approach is applied to London's urban water supply system located in the Thames river basin, south-east of England. Results from this thesis demonstrate how a systematic characterization of uncertainties related to future hydro-climatic conditions can help decision-makers compare and choose between a range of possible water management options and decide upon the scale and timing of implementation that meet decision-makers' risk tolerability. Additionally, results show the benefits of combining climate information with vulnerability analysis to test decisions' robustness to unprecedented drought conditions. The application of the proposed methods to the London urban water supply system suggests that the risks of exceeding reliability targets in the future will increase if no further supply or demand side actions were to be taken. Results from the case study also show that changes in demand due to population growth could have greater impacts on water security than climate change and that small reductions in climate-related risk may come at significantly higher costs. It should be stressed that the results from the case study are based on a simplified representation of London's water supply system and that they should be further tested with the full system model employed by the water utility which implements more complex operational rules.

M.A. (Development Studies) / This study examines water service provision models in KwaZulu-Natal and asks to what extent the intention behind the implementation of a specific model of water service provision correlates with residents’ experiences of the service delivery model that is implemented within their township? Using a case study method this question was examined in two poor communities in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa that were characterised by different models of water service delivery. In the first case, namely Kwadukuza, municipal service provision is the operating model, whilst in the second case, Etete, a Public-Private Partnership governs water service delivery. In examining the different models of water service delivery in the two communities and how they are perceived and experienced by stakeholders, this research primarily expands on existing literature on water service provision within South Africa. It furthermore contributes to broader discussions on decentralisation and citizen participation, whilst building on scholarly debates on water privatisation and partnerships in the context of townships in South Africa. The study begins with a consideration of relevant literature, examining the growing impetus of decentralisation globally, as well as the concurrent emergence of neoliberal thinking and New Public Management strategies. Thereafter, debates on water privatisation are explored, before moving on to a consideration of the policy and practice of water provision in the South African context. At this juncture, the study draws on in-depth interviews as it considers the two models of water service provision within the Ilembe District Municipality – the factors that influenced their implementation and, thereafter, the relationships between and experiences of stakeholders (both implementers and beneficiaries alike) of the service delivery model that operates within their municipality. The study submits that the proposed benefits of decentralisation in the South African context are questionable, specifically as they relate to the delivery of services to the poorest of the poor. It is argued that this is owing considerably to inadequacies at the level of local government. In this respect, it is suggested that existing participatory mechanisms are falling short of the mark. In light of this, the study advances the manifold advantages of multiple stakeholders and partnership arrangements for service delivery models in the South African context. At its core, the study highlights residents’ experiences of water service delivery into their townships in an attempt to measure these against other reported experiences.

Service delivery is the provision of basic services to the community by Local Government (LG). The Water Services Act 108 of 1997 states that everyone should have rights to access water and sanitation. It further states that the level of service it provides its consumers, however, is dependent on a number of factors as per clause 11 (2) (a) which articulates that every water services authority has a duty to all consumers or potential consumers in its area of jurisdiction to progressively ensure sufficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water services. Craythorne (2006:170) argued that a municipality may, in accordance with a policy framework it has adopted, establish a part of the municipal area as an internal municipal service district to facilitate the provision of a municipal service in that area. Owing to the vastness of the district, many rural communities and the grant dependency of the municipality, the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) is challenged in providing safe potable water to all and is providing different levels of this service to different communities, based on available water resources, cost of supply and the ability to recover costs. In this regard the ADM provides a ―Basic level of service‖ to its rural communities in line with the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) National Guidelines of 25 litres per person per day. This study undertook to probe the determinants of effective basic service delivery at Amathole District Municipality. Water provision function is still a challenge to District Municipalities (DMs) due to various impediments confronted by the DMs when rendering basic services. From the literature study and information gathered from the respondents in this research it became evident that basic service delivery is a key to the development of local communities. In this regard it is pertinent that the District Municipality in question devises means that will mitigate the identified challenges in order to provide services to expectant communities. Self administered questionnaires were used as a method of collecting data from the respondents. In this study a qualitative method was used to analyse the data collected from the respondents. Based on the information gathered from the respondents the researcher made findings and formulated recommendations.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / South Africa is a country experiencing water scarcity, and the provision of water as well as sanitation is a basic need and a right that must be provided to the populace by the municipalities. The water must either be subsidised by the government through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant or financed through the municipality ’s resources. The Capricorn District Municipality is composed of the Polokwane, Molemole, Lepelle Nkumpi, and Blouberg local Municipalities. Amongst all these municipalities, there is high rural domination and the inability to provide water daily in most jurisdictional areas. In achieving the objectives and addressing factors that impact negatively on sustainable supply of water and effective sanitation within Capricorn District Municipality the study adopted, the theory of rising expectations, the philosophy of servant leadership, the public choice theory, the district’s development plan, the rational model of reasoning and the participatory research paradigm because the study addresses the societal issues that affect mostly marginalised groups. The study used a mixed method research methodology that is dominated by the qualitative method. Quantitative method is used to justify availability of water and sanitation to the Capricorn District’s civilians while the qualitative method was used to investigate the cause and effect of the non-provision of sustainable water as well as sanitation. The study established that there are some hindrances that were found in the focus area (Capricorn District Municipality) because of; illicit activities, poor infrastructural maintenance, and the need to establish an enabling environment by the politicians as well as the officials with no interference in the running of the administrative affairs

Thesis (PhD (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Please refer to full text for abstract