SOUTH AFRICA: Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Reduction Program through Performance Based Contracts (PBCs) for South Africa

The objective of the activity is to identify opportunities for private investment in NRW as a means to improve the financial and technical capacity of selected water boards in 2-3 municipalities to: a) develop and implement Non-Revenue Water Reduction Plans through Performance Based Contracts and b) to develop a strategy to attract private sector financing to the water and wastewater sector.  The PPIAF activity was to build upon an ongoing initiative of the Department of Water Services (DWS) and Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN) at a national level to develop an operating strategy for private participation in the preparation and financing of the No Drop (leakage reduction Program) at municipal levels.

Strategic Water Partners Network. The Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN) is a partnership between the public sector, primarily DWS, the private sector and civil society, including large, multinational beverage, mining and food corporations which are concerned with the conservation of water. Together these partners are working to close a projected 17% gap between water supply and demand by the year 2030 in South Africa. The partnership was established by the 2030 Water Resources Group, which was initially hosted by the IFC since 2011 until it transferred to the World Bank Water GP in 2018.  SWPN programs are administered under various work streams or working groups including Water Use Efficiency and Leakage Reduction (WELR), Effluent and Waste Water Management (EWWM), and Skills Development and Transformation (SDT). SWPN projects are often specifically supported by the key corporations involved in SWPN.

No Drop Incentive Based Monitoring. SWPN and DWS have developed the “No Drop Incentive based Monitoring” approach for all municipalities to encourage progress in water use efficiency and water loss management in the South African Municipal Sector. The No Drop assessment serves to measure a municipality’s knowledge of its status and is considered the first audited NRW/water loss data set in South Africa. The program involved developing a set of criteria to collectively measure and assesses the following:  i) Non-revenue water management; ii) water conservation and demand management; and iii) water supply management.