With the amount of water already saved by Operation Gcin'amanzi, the project upgrading the water infrastructure in Soweto, the City could have filled almost 21 000 Olympic swimming pools.

In brief OPERATION Gcin'amanzi in short: The project is 75 percent complete; Since its start, 15 077 jobs have been created; Over 52 000 megalitres of water have been recovered since 2003; In money terms, more than R152-million has been saved; It has cost the City over R484-million since inception; A total budget of R880-million has been set aside for this project; and It may be extended to other areas, subject to the outcome of feasibility studies.

OPERATION Gcin'amanzi, the massive project to upgrade ageing water infrastructure in Soweto, is more than halfway complete; in fact, according to a report on the operation's progress over the last financial year, the R880-million project is now 75 percent finished.

Brought before the mayoral committee on 13 September, the report showed that much headway had been made, with more than 35 000 water meters installed during the 2006/07 financial year and over 28 000 megalitres of water saved as a result; to date more than 78 000 meters had been installed and over 52 000 megalitres of water had been saved. One megalitre is equal to one million litres.

Although this is 20 percent less than the targeted 44 400 meters for the year, it is still seen as a good performance considering the number of challenges.

And Lucky Ganzin, the chief operations officer for the project, said that the target of 169 989 meters would be installed by the time Operation Gcin'amanzi was completed in the 2008/09 financial year. "Timelines will be affected, not targets," Ganzin confirmed.

Challenges
One of the challenges for teams working in Soweto is gaining access to properties. This results in time-consuming efforts to leave notices and hold follow-up meetings to get hold of property owners; some properties have to be visited up to three times to get a response from the owners, but the report noted that good progress had been made over time.

In some cases, the legal owner of the site could not be established, leading to 3 300 meters not being installed, the report said. Joburg Water is working with the department of housing to resolve the issue.

Other delays that affected the operation were local labour problems and tender failures following the new Contractor Industry Development Board Act, which required that contractors be graded "to safeguard the public from poor workmanship", Ganzin pointed out.

Gains all round
But the report showed that there was much to be gained for everyone. In 2003, the City initiated Operation Gcin'amanzi as a pilot in Phiri to deal with the high volume of water lost in Soweto (30 percent) and to reduce non-revenue water use by installing pre-paid meters.

Extremely time-consuming and costly, substantial savings have already been made. More savings will be made in the long run. Indeed, the project's biggest beneficiary is the environment. The amount of water saved to date is enough to fill almost 21 000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

And for the consumer, savings are also impressive. "Before the operation started [in 2003] households used on average 66 000 litres per month per stand. This has dropped to approximately 12 000 litres per month per stand."

This translates into a decline of 81 percent in water usage per consumer.

The Gcin'amanzi team does a thorough check of the whole water infrastructure on each site, fixing leaking taps, broken water pipes and faulty geezers, in addition to installing a free pre-paid water meter.

For the City, benefits translate into increases to its revenue stream. Water and sanitation tariffs are the third largest contributor to City coffers; with pre-paid metering the culture of non-payment for services is halted.

Lastly, the project leaves a legacy of employment and skills. "We support local suppliers and local labour. We train them [local labour] to do basic plumbing."

Getting on board
Ganzin stressed that the operation was voluntary. "Before we start with the roll-out, we get buy-in from the community." The benefits of the meter system as well as the need for water conservation are illustrated during the initial meeting, and reiterated during the installation.

A pre-paid meter

"In our buy-in we also provide incentives. Joburg Water will write-off any outstanding debt over a three-year period once the individual has signed-up."

At the start of the project residents were wary, thinking that Joburg Water was trying to sell water to them, Ganzin said. "With time people have really realised the benefits of the project. Already 80 percent of residents have signed on for phase four."

And because 6 000 litres of water are free each month for each household, many residents do not even have to top up as the free allocation meets all their needs. Those who do top up, spend on average R20 extra. "We show them how much water 6 000 litres is and what you can do with it, keeping the information practical for them."

Paying for services
Even residents living on welfare grants had shown a willingness to pay for services, Ganzin confirmed. "They have an understanding that they must pay for services."

Operation Gcin'amanzi is now in its third phase, resulting in savings of more than R84-million in the last financial year alone. Phase four will begin early in 2008 with the focus on Soweto's east and southeast – Mofulo, Meadowlands, Diepkloof, Orlando, Pimville and Klipspruit.

The operation has set itself a stiff target for the 2007/2008 year, wanting to install 50 000 meters over this period.

According to Ganzin, Joburg Water was undertaking feasibility studies in Diepsloot, Alexander and Ivory Park to extend the operation to one of these areas. In addition, water meters have been installed in the new developments at Lehae, Cosmo City, Pennyville and Stratford.

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