From 2002-08-22 to 2002-08-23

Venue: Birchwood Executive Hotel, Johannesburg International Airport

Summary:

In an attempt to ultimately provide all households in South Africa with a supply of clean and safe drinking water, the National Government is giving the highest priority to water supply for all. To achieve this, a large number of small water treatment systems have been installed. Unfortunately, the majority of these small water systems are subject to failure prior to the end of the project lifetime, some even from the planning stages. There is, therefore, a major problem with the sustainability of existing small water systems and lack of conformity about sustainability to future (new) systems. There is a need for a structure, on a national and/or provincial level, to provide assistance and support for these small water systems. Among the important requirements, which are to ensure long-term sustainability of the systems, are technical ability, reliability, well-trained operators, community involvement, empowerment, availability of back-up systems and capacity building.

The workshop aims at addressing these issues by firstly presenting the main problems and challenges facing the sustainability of small water treatment systems in Southern Africa, and to obtain inputs on how these problems can be remedied and the challenges met. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the National Rural Water Association (proposed) will provide the input on how these problems are dealt with successfully in a number of countries, and will provide guidance on how their experiences can be used locally in the sub-continent.

The objective will be to adopt an approach and draw up a methodology for addressing the problem of sustainability of small water systems in Southern Africa through the formation of appropriate structures, which will be followed by a focus on individual problems that are commonly experienced. This will include an overview of treatment technologies and monitoring methods for small water systems, as well as considerations for upgrading and optimizing small systems.

Organizers: Water Research Commission
Water Institute of Southern Africa
Contact Name: Chris Swartz
E-mail: cswartz@mweb.co.za
URL: http://www.wrc.org.za/Files/Workshop%20on%20the%20Sustainability%20of%20Small%20Water%20Systems%20-%20Ex….pdf