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Management of Unauthorised Connections

in South AfricaMASIBAMBANE COORDINATING

COMMITTEE24TH Feb 2011Mark Bannister

Department of Water Affairs

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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.

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Typical Unlawful Connections

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Typical Unlawful Connections

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The South African Modified IWA Water Balance Structure

Free Basic Water Billed Metered

Consumption Recoverable Revenue Water

Billed Authorised Consumption

Billed Unmetered Consumption

Potential Revenue Water Non-

recoverable Revenue Water

Unbilled Metered Consumption

Authorised Consumption

Unbilled Authorised Consumption Unbilled Unmetered

Consumption

Unauthorised Consumption

Apparent Losses (Commercial Losses) Customer Meter

inaccuracies Leakage on transmission and distribution mains Leakage on overflows from storage facilities

System Input Volume

Water Losses

Real Losses (Physical Losses)

Leakage on service connections

Non-Revenue Water

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

39%42% 42%

15%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Africa Asia Latin America North America

No

n-R

even

ue w

ate

r

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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).

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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

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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.

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Ingredients for success…

• Problem conceptualisation• Political will• Institutional capacity: • Financial capacity.• Enabling instruments• Conducive environment: • Communication: • Integration

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Core Approaches

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

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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

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Overview of the Intervention Process

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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

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Thank You(bannisterm@dwa.gov.za)