African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

The main objective of water demand managementis to achieve efficiency and equity in theprovision of water and sanitation services. Inorder to attain this objective, a number of instrumentshave been developed. These instrumentsare interdependent and mutually reinforcing andthe ability to apply them effectively will dependon the prevailing local conditions. In cities, thedifferent income groups (high, middle and low)and the different types of urban areas they livein can be distinguished, making it possible toidentify the various water demand managementmeasures that are applicable. A broad range ofapproaches and instruments exist for Water DemandManagement. Those identified by LisaneworkA. A (2003), ranging from economic tosocio-cultural and technical approaches can bedivided into:(a) Water conservation measures:(i) Leakage detection;(ii) Reduction of illegal connections;(iii) Use of water saving devices;(iv) Out-of-house water saving measures;(b) Water pricing measures:(i) Water metering;(ii) Tariff structures;(c) Information and educational measures:(i) Awareness raising;(ii) Public involvement;(iii) In-school education;(d) Legal measures(i) Rules and regulations that form the basisof WDM policy;(ii) Regulations on resale of water;Water Demand Management in Zimbabwe:A success StoryThe City of Bulawayo successfully implementeda water demand management system starting in1999. The motivation for this was the experiencegained during the 1991/92 drought when the cityhad very little water available. Water losses in thedistribution system amounted to 22,000 m3/dayor 23 per cent of the water supplied from the watertreatment works. This programme involved developingthe awareness of water users about the needto conserve water, which is now well established.A rising block tariff system was introduced to discourageexcessive water usage. Pressure managementand leak detection systems were put in place.Improvement in the operation and maintenanceof water infrastructure and training of personnelwere also undertaken. The city has managed to reducewater consumption in low-density suburbs toan average of 75 litres/capita/head, in comparisonto 200 to 300 litres/capita/day in similar suburbsin Harare. After investing Z$5 million/year, thebenefits in reducing water losses are equivalent toabout Z$28 million/year (AWDR National Report,2005).VALUING WATER291