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Chapter 7: Working with Water
25 LITRES
PER PERSON PER DAY IS
FREE BASIC WATER
...the volume of free
water has often
proven inadequate
for low-income
households
In 2001, South Africa introduced a policy of free basic services, including water,
electricity and solid waste collection. As part of that policy, every household should
receive the first 6,000 litres of water per month for free, based on a calculation of a
minimum of 25 litres per person per day for a household of eight.
However, municipalities can decide if free basic water is made available only to
the poor, and how the poor will be defined and identified. Out of 169 Water Service
Providers (municipalities), 29 provide free basic water to all their residents, 136
provide it to some residents and four very small municipalities provide it to none of
their residents.
You are required to pay for water that is used over and above the free supply;
consumption in excess of 6,000l (6kl) per month being charged on a basis of rising
block tariffs. In theory, therefore, all households receive a free lifeline supply of
water, subsidised by rising block tariffs that penalise wealthier households and act as
a disincentive to over-consumption.
In practice, however, the volume of free water has often proven inadequate for lowincome
households, forcing them into the second or third blocks of consumption,
often creating higher water bills than what these households were charged prior to
the introduction of “free” water.
The biggest water-users are farmers and they receive water from irrigation boards,
water boards or bulk water providers. They use ‘raw water’ which has not been
treated to the levels required for drinking water. Currently, these large-scale
users pay vastly different amounts for water across the country. Drier areas do not
necessarily pay the most for water, despite the fact that the cost of infrastructure to
reach those areas can make it more expensive.
Basic Water Supply Facility: The infrastructure necessary to supply 25 litres
of potable water per person per day within 200 metres of a household and with
a minimum flow of 10 litres per minute (in the case of communal water points)
or 6,000 litres of potable water supplied per formal connection per month (in the
case of yard or house connections).
The Private Sector
The private sector recognises water risk as a material concern for business viability,
and several initiatives have grown internationally in the past decade to deal with that
risk. Global corporate companies who are already signatories of the United Nations
Global Compact can sign the CEO Water Mandate.
UN GLOBAL COMPACT
The United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate
sustainability initiative. The CEO Water Mandate assists companies in
developing, implementing and disclosing water sustainability policies and
practices.
CEO Water Mandate signatory companies commit to annually disclosing
their water plans and results in the form of Direct Operations, Supply Chain
and Watershed Management, Collective Action, Public Policy, Community
Engagement, and Transparency.
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88 | Water Facts & Futures: Rethinking South Africa’s Water Future