Water Pollution and Water challenges in Ukhahlamba District Municipality

1. Water Pollution and Water challenges in Ukhahlamba District Municipality Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Public hearings 3 and 4 June 2008

2. Map

3. Basic information • 4 local municipalities in the district area: Gariep, Maletswai, Senqu and Elundini • About 300 - 340 000 people live in the district • 80% live in Senqu and Elundini and 20% live between Maletswai and Gariep • Only 17% of people live in towns • Over 25% of the population is on child support grants • Households with an income of less than R1500 per month (2006) • Elundini 80.6%, Senqu65.1%, Maletswai58.4%, Gariep 58.1% • Government, Agriculture and Trade are the main sectors supporting the economy • Prevalence of Hiv and Aids is at 29.1% (among those who have tested.)

4. Briefing how Ukhahlamba addresses water quality in the WSDP • The first WSDP (2004) did not sufficiently address Water Quality • The new draft WSDP (2008) is more detailed and discusses water quality under the following headings: • Situation assessment • Future trend and goals • Strategic gap analysis • Implementation strategies

5. Strategies in draft reviewed WSDP to address water quality • Appointment of competent water service providers. • Upgrade water treatment plants within 2 years to provide reliable and sustainable SANS compliant water. • Assist with the elimination of informal settlements to meet the national target by 2014. • Return flow quality from sewerage treatment works to comply with SANS standards. • All rural households to be provided with sanitation by 2010.

6. Challenges to meet interventions with regards to water quality as per the WSDP • Appointment of competent water service providers. • Section 78 process completed in 2006. • Report indicated Local Municipalities (LMs) did not have sufficient capacity at the time, however Council decided in terms of its mandate to “Support and Capacitate Local Municipalities”, to appoint them as Water Service Providers as they were historically providing this service. • Despite capacity building efforts by the WSA the LMs have not advanced sufficiently nor geared themselves to become efficient WSPs able to provide the service at the quality required. • The WSA is in the process of reviewing water provision services in the District. • The challenge: • The previous Service Level Agreement did not sufficiently address performance nor water quality. This has been rectified in new Service Level Agreements. • Financial resource challenges over the past year restricted the WSA from taking sufficient proactive action to intervene in the WSPs and rectify the situation.

7. Challenges to meet interventions with regards to water quality as per the WSDP • Upgrade water treatment plants within 2 years to provide reliable and sustainable SANS compliant water. • Arising from fluctuating water quality, in October 2007 an investigation to determine which water treatment works needed prioritized intervention was undertaken. • Based on this report the WSA invited DWAF to visit the treatment works and based on this an application for funding was submitted. • In April 2008 DWAF did a situation analysis of some of these prioritized water treatment works in the District. Out of the 5 assessed, only 1(Sterkspruit WTW) was “in good state of repair”. The others were is a serious state of collapse and likelihood and impact of failure was deemed to be high. The study did not however indicate the remedial measures and the cost to rectify the problems. • DBSA support is currently identifying remedial measures and costing all 12 WTW in the District. • It is now proposed that the Local municipalities will only provide reticulation services and a separate water provider (such as a water board) will run all the water and sanitation treatment works. A further provider will oversee water demand management and catchment management. • The challenge : • We expect the cost for the remedial works to be exorbitant (in excess of R30million) • Prior to 2006/7(adjustment budget) the municipality did not have a capital replacement fund. • The Municipality has been in financial difficulty and has not been in a position to apply for loans.

8. Challenges to meet interventions with regards to water quality as per the WSDP • Assist with the elimination of informal settlements to meet the national target by 2014. • Bulk service provision is the responsibility of the WSA (Ukhahlamba DM) and fully dependent on MIG funding. • The MIG fund for Ukhahlamba is fully committed over the MTEF on water /sanitation projects to meet backlogs. • Ukhahlamba DM has a good history of spending MIG funds. • The challenge: • Insufficient capital funding for new bulk infrastructure development. Amounts are uncertain at this stage as the housing sector plans are still being developed by the Local Municipalities in conjunction with the Dept of Housing.

9. Challenges to meet interventions with regards to water quality as per the WSDP • Return flow quality from sewerage treatment works to comply with SANS standards. • This is an area that has been ineffectively monitored due to the Service Level Agreement with WSPs not being sufficiently performance based. • Within the WSA there have been capacity constraints (as the tariffs were below cost recovery and there were a number of unfilled EHP posts). Tariffs have been amended and posts have now been filled. • DBSA is currently assisting with a baseline study on return flow quality (and also leachate from landfill sites). • The challenge: • Competent water service providers to appropriately implement systems and procedures around return flow quality • The distance to laboratories to test water or effluent quality is in time distance further than the standards, resulting in potentially compromised results as bacteria growth continues whilst in transit.

10. Challenges to meet interventions with regards to water quality as per the WSDP • All rural households to be provided with sanitation by 2010. • The DM has currently 76% sanitation backlogs (64945 households) and requires R335m to eradicate them. • Presentations made to DPLG and DWAF to solicit additional funding to deal with backlogs have not been successful to date. • Plans to implement projects are in place as identified in the Sanitation Master Plan but funding is lacking • The Sanitation Master Plan also highlights the increased operations and maintenance costs of all newly built infrastructure. • Challenge: • The MIG fund of Ukhahlamba is fully committed over the MTEF on other water / sanitation projects to meet backlogs (55% on water and 45% on sanitation) • Insufficient capital funding for new infrastructure and subsequent operations and maintenance.

11. Relationships around compliance mechanisms • National compliance (DWAF) • Policy, support, regulation and information • Local compliance (WSA) • By-laws: Promulgated By-laws are in place • Develop and implement policies: Reviewed indigent policies and credit control policies are in place • Tariffs: Tariffs have been revised to be realistic from 1 July 2008 • Planning : WSDP is under review and Sanitation Master plan is complete • WSP arrangements: under review, Service Level Agreements not signed • Monitoring of WSPs: monthly coordination meetings - poorly attended by LMs. • Local compliance (WSP) • Provide water and sanitation services to meet required standards. • Prepare water sector plans. • Identify projects to improve water and sanitation services.

12. How does Ukhahlamba respond to poor water quality • It has been understood that the WSP had the responsibility to inform communities of failures or potential failures in water quality. • Due to this not happening despite our monitoring identifying problems, the Water Services Authority instituted boil notices across the district area (to all potentially compromised communities) in April 2008 and these are all still in place • Prior to this the WSA had been informing the WSP that the monitoring had identified poor water and were pressurizing them to take action through administrative and political avenues • As a last resort Ukhahlamba WSA has carted water in instances where there has been a total failure in water provision.

13. Awareness Programmes around water quality issues • Prior to March 2008 • Sanitation resource centre undertakes health and hygiene awareness in the rural areas of Elundini (mainly at schools and clinics) (ongoing programme). • Health and hygiene training provided to hawkers ( ongoing programme in the entire district area). • Health and Hygiene training in Ugie in Schools around water demand management and health and hygiene, linked to the upgrading of infrastructure to respond to the PG Bison investment. • Health and Hygiene awareness as part of the implementation of all sanitation projects including the eradication of buckets. • Premises inspection of public facilities and reports prepared for their management on how to improve health and hygiene ( such as Empilisweni Hospital and Cloete Joubert Hospital).

14. Awareness Programmes around water quality issues • Clinic awareness through tabling of water quality reports in the District Health Advisory committee ( a structure of the Department of Health). • Water committees at ward level, have been established in Senqu and Elundini to deal with all water related problems. ( This is a link between the community and the WSP and WSA). • Political awareness through the provision of water quality reports to District Municipality structures ( standing committees, Mayoral Committee and Council), as well as the District Mayors Forum. • Water quality a standing item on the WSP/WSA monthly coordination meetings and DWAF bilateral meetings. • Tabled a draft water quality communication strategy to council in April 2008 to improve communication to all role-players and the community. • Observe national water week and sanitation week ( on a annual basis) to add further impetus to the health and hygiene awareness programme currently undertaken to communities.

15. Awareness Programmes around water quality issues • Post March 2008 • Issued Boil notice at the end April 2008, when it became clear that the monthly water quality results ( that were disputed by WSPs based on testing by independent service providers) had been affirmed by DWAF. Issued to all potentially compromised communities ( only excluded the towns of Sterkspruit, Barkly East, Rhodes, and Steynsburg). All Boil notices are still in place. • Notices issued to all schools, crèches, hospitals, clinics, and community organisations. • Intensified health and hygiene training for all communities where diarrhoea among infants had occurred. • Intensive sanitation week awareness linked to broader awareness around poverty, government assistance and health undertaken together with the social cluster ( Dept of Social Development, SASSA, Dept of Health and Ukhahlamba District Municipality).

16. Monthly water quality reporting • Ukhahlamba tests for E.Coli, Total Plate Counts and Coliforms. • Water quality has fluctuated over the past months. • The “needs attention” is usually due to high number of Coliforms. • The “failures” have been due to the presence of E.coli.

17. Reporting to DWAF • Ukhahlamba DM takes on average 52 samples per month to monitor WSPs and has been consistent with water sampling since 2006 • Samples of all urban schemes and only rural schemes at the rural nodes as defined in the District Spatial Development Framework are taken

18. Anomalies in Water Quality • E.coli indicates a lack of chlorination • Total Plate count and Coliforms indicate poor operations and management of the water systems • These are exacerbated by: • Overall poor condition of water treatment plants due to ageing infrastructure, insufficient preventative maintenance due to lack of funding. • Lack of skilled operators responsible to operate Water and Sanitation Treatment Works. • Inadequate supervision of operations and maintenance as well as management of infrastructure. • Insufficient funding to implement programmes to meet the sanitation and water backlogs • Lack of understanding by local municipalities of the magnitude of responsibility they have taken on, through signing a service level agreement to be water service providers.

19. Funds available to address water quality issues • Water Service Providers (currently R23.5m – direct costs excluding personnel) • Elundini water services ( Elundini LM and Sintec): • General maintenance (including rural areas)R5.4m • Chemicals R220,000 • Senqu water services (Senqu LM and Bloemwater) • General maintenance (including rural areas) R15.6m • Chemicals R150,000 • Maletswai water services • General maintenance R785,000 • Chemicals R700,000 • Gariep water services • General maintenance R301,000 • Chemicals R370,000

20. Funds available to address water quality issues • Water Services Authority (23% of the current total operating costs of the municipality) • Training of staff R305,000 • Monitoring and evaluation R169,000 • Municipal Health Services: Water quality testing R306 000 • MIG budget relating to water quality • R21.8m committed to new infrastructure which equates to 22% of the MIG allocation • Maclear waste water works R3.5m • Ugie new water treatment plant R12m • Steynsburg new water treatment works R6.3m

21. Technical and scientific skills to purify water • WSA (District Municipality) • Technical Director : B.Tech Civil engineering degree, 20 years experience in engineering field • WSA Manager: N.dip Civil Engineering, studying towards a B.Tech degree, 9 years experience • WSP Manager: N.dip Civil Engineering, studying towards a B.Tech degree, 6 years experience • Currently on advert for the filling of 4 water technicians posts (1 per LM area) • Manager Municipal Health Services: B.Tech Environmental Health. 16 years experience • 1Snr EHP, B.Tech Environmental Health with 4 years experience • 16 Jnr EHPs, with either N.Dip and B.Tech Environmental Health and ranging in 5months to 3 years experience(9) and 2 with plus 18 years experience. (Large staff turnover)

22. Technical and scientific skills to purify water • WSPs ( Local Municipalities) • Gariep: no engineer, post advertised • Maletswai: N.Dip civil engineering • Senqu: N3 electrical engineering • Elundini: N.Dip civil engineering, post being advertised. • In general, water supervisors are not skilled, however, Elundini has appointed from 1 April 2008 a supervisor with 7 years experience in water treatment. • WSPs ( Bloemwater and Sintec) have extensive capacity in engineering and water quality. • Water and Sanitation learnership underway whereby 38 school leavers are being trained. Complete training by October, and will be drafted into the Water Treatment facilities. • With DWAF support, have provided short course training for all current water treatment supervisors (Feb 2008)

23. Role and assistance by DWAF, DPLG and water boards • DWAF • Long term and constant support provided by DWAF over a number of years • Water specialist assigned to the WSA from 1 May 2008 for 3 months to assist in improving systems in water treatment and management • Initiated more detailed training of water treatment operators • Provided bleach and soap during the time of crisis • Provided additional hands on support around health and hygiene awareness for two weeks in May 2008 • Provided collaborating water tests to cross check WSA results • Tested stools to check for pathogens and to do DNA profiling to ascertain if the pathogens were from water • Water treatment audit to ascertain gaps and determine critical areas of intervention • In process of revising the eWQMS to better respond to the needs of water management in the area.

24. Role and assistance by DWAF, DPLG and water boards • DBSA • Water specialist assigned to the WSA from 19 May 2008 for indefinite period to lend capacity to the WSA and WSPs • Verbally committed to provide funding for : • testing equipment to all treatment works and for Environmental Health Practitioners to test turbidity and chlorine levels of treated water • support to do a situation analysis and determine costs to refurbish water treatment works • Baseline studies of raw water sources, return flow quality, rural water quality • Health and hygiene awareness programmes ( training of trainers: EHPs and CDWs) • Database development for the capturing and analysis of performance data • Bloemwater (Water board providing services in the rural areas of Senqu Municipality) • supported the WSA with additional chlorine tablets and canisters, carting of water to potentially compromised areas, cleaning of the Epilisweni hospital water treatment works (on behalf of the Dept of PW and Dept of Health) • DPLG • The report on the cost of the refurbishment of water treatment works will be forwarded to DPLG for funding

25. Thank you.