Rustenburg launches water conservation, demand management programme

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Metsi a Rona, a Setswana phrase for ‘our water’, is an intervention by the municipality to draw accountability between itself, business and the people of Rustenburg to collectively save water for the long term sustainability of the city and its people.

“South Africa is a water-scarce country. The obligation to preserve and use water wisely lies on all of us,” says Nqobile Sithole, municipal manager at RLM. “In our previous financial year, the municipality experienced a concerning 43% loss in water from leaks and general wasteful usage. We also had legacy water infrastructure and systems which made it difficult for us to proactively prevent this loss. There was also a gap in the way our people understood by-laws that govern water usage and preservation.”

Upgrading infrastructure

The municipality has sought expertise from the private sector to upgrade its infrastructure and also roll out modern technology that will assist in managing and monitoring reservoirs to prevent overflows, accurate metering of consumption and revenue management.

“The critical success factor of this programme is the buy-in and commitment of our people and the business community at large in protecting this scarce commodity that is water,” adds Cllr Mpho Khunou, executive mayor of RLM. “It’s important that we all take collective responsibility to keep our water supply stable and sufficient to sustain the municipality in its entirety.”

Dealing with water leaks

As part of the Metsi a Rona programme, the municipality has put in place a rapid response team equipped with resources and skills to attend to detection and reports of water leaks throughout the municipal area. “We strongly encourage members of the public to use the 24-hour helpline set up for communities to report water leaks and burst pipes timeously as every drop counts,” elaborates Sithole.

Other initiatives that will be rolled out through the programme over the next three years include a 12-month plan to visit and engage the 45 wards that make up Rustenburg where citizens will be familiarised with by-laws that govern water usage and be educated on ways to save water, how to report water wastage and leaks as well as emphasising the importance of respecting and saving water in their day-to-day lives.