THE CITY of Bulawayo mooted the idea to introduce prepaid metering as a pilot project in Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle area in 2011.
The recommendation was to pilot the project in Cowdray Park’s Hlalani Kuhle before taking the project throughout the whole city in a phased approach.
The major reason for the selection of the Cowdray Park area was that there were no meters to individual households and the area does not have any form of servicing at the moment.
At the handover of Cowdray Park to the City of Bulawayo, the municipality was not aware of the number of households that were in the area as it was then under the Bulawayo Home Seekers’ Consortium Trust.
Hlalani Kuhle is a programme that was initiated by the government and was aimed at providing residential stands for people who had been displaced by Operation Murambatsvina which saw the demolition of squatter settlements and other illegal settlements throughout the country.
The Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle project now consists of 10 294 residential stands, six primary school stands, four secondary school stands, two local authority sites, 15 places of assembly and six commercial centres.
At the start of the project, Hlalani Kuhle built 200 houses and the rest of the stands were allocated as vacant plots.
A neighbourhood commercial centre which is envisaged to be to the biggest commercial centre in Cowdray Park is also located within this area.
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The City of Bulawayo then realised the risk of people living without water and ablution services and installed communal tapes for domestic purposes only.
There are nine communal stand pipes supplying approximately 10 294 stands. This area is supplied with unmetered water.
It is in this light that the City of Bulawayo proposed to pilot the prepaid metering system for the communal stand pipes, noting the success of prepaid water meters in some areas and also benefits it awards the residents and the city on the management of water.
Special focus was on water conservation as it was noted that the area was one of the major water consumers in the city and also the area did not have metered water. Water prepaid metering was one such concept which was adopted as it encourages water conservation and enhances water demand management.
Background The idea behind the use water prepaid meters was researched under the Water Demand Management Business proposal and also under the City of Bulawayo Water and Waste Water Master Plans.
These documents which were adopted by council guide the management of the City of Bulawayo water and sanitation services in the next 20 years and beyond.
They note the challenges which the city currently faces with the systems, make recommendations for the development of the city and also outline the rehabilitation process of the water and sanitation infrastructure in Bulawayo.
The Water Demand Management Business Plan is the guiding document towards water demand management. The business plan provides a basis for fund mobilisation in support of initiatives aimed at curtailing water loss through both real loss reduction and billing improvement.
We note that water demand management is an ongoing process rather than a project with a defined start and finish date.
The purpose of water demand management is to start the process of rebuilding capacity through the introduction of basic non-revenue water reduction principles and practices to the current City of Bulawayo.
How prepaid metering works It is important to outline how the prepaid metering system would work in a bid to ensure that all residents understand and have a clear picture of the system.
The system comprises three main components which includes: The communal prepaid water meter ( the dispenser),
The prepaid billing software and network,
Point of sale (POS) terminal networks,
The prepaid software management system: Allows for the payment of areas/Installation,
Blocking of lost/stolen tokens,
Programmable stepped tariff system,
Daily cash-up routine,
Daily, monthly sales analysis,
Detailed transaction list,
Consumer consumption profile,
Meter status reporting,
Maintenance and activity log.
How the new system will work: Install communal, or individual or commercial prepaid metering/billing solution, which addresses the challenges associated with post-billing,
Each household is issued with a token so that they can prepay the water to be consumed and dispense directly into their containers,
The system coerces residents to be more efficient consumers of water, thereby creating a virtual water works, by way of more residents accessing the excess water,
The system automatically bills the consumers and creates consumption profiles and daily, weekly and monthly reconciliation reports.
Council will be able to generate revenue from the water thereby ensuring a sustainable future,
How consumers will buy water: The City of Bulawayo will offer bulk credit to vendors who will have the POS machines. This will also assist in creating employment in the city,
Consumers will be able to purchase water from the vendors using the tokens as transfer media,
The POS will automatically upload the consumer profile and meter status,
When a vendor runs out of credit, he uses a higher level token to purchase more bulk credit, at the same time transferring all his customers profiles to the management software.
Domestic water dispenser (DWD) The DWD is designed for individual households to control the dispensing of prepaid quantities of water. The DWD is installed outside using the prepaid system, powered by a small lithium battery.
It consists of three main components, the electronic module, latching valve and water meter with pulse output.
A multi-tier step tariff system, monitors the monthly consumption of the consumer and charges him using the appropriate tariff. A monthly consumption profile is generated, which in turn is loaded back onto the token.
This profile is uploaded to the management system the next time the consumer purchases credit.
Programmable to accommodate: Multi-tier programmable stepped tariff levels,
Credit low early warning,
Auto-debit to deduct a predetermined amount of credit weekly or monthly, as a basic charge for sewerage, refuse removal, etc,
Daily limit to control the quantity of water dispensed per day,
Daily free credit allowance,
Arrears payment facility to allow customers to pay off their arrears at the vending station. Arrear amount paid can be a fixed monthly charge or percentage per transaction,
Features: Consumer lock with own token,
Automatic dispenser configuration,
Monthly consumer consumption profile,
Secure encrypted tokens,
Electronic totaliser with 0,5l resolution,
LCD display indicates credit remaining,
Leak detection,
Tamper detection,
Up to seven years battery life,
Water resistant enclosure (IP 67).
Emergency water,
Security token and tamper switches: Tampering results in switch being activated and water being shut off,
Token options for levels of authorisation,
Password protection,
Full financial audit on all transactions,
Tokens cannot be duplicated or reloaded,
Token benefits: Read/write token with non-volatile memory,
Encrypted token with cycle counter eliminates fraud,
Ensures transfer of up to date info of usage,
Data retention over 10 years,
Resistant to extreme environmental conditions — shock and temperature (-20° to +70° C),
Information stored includes: account number, credit, consumption profile, leak and tamper icons, last meter reading and programmed information.
Advantages of prepaid metering to local authority: Improve the consumer metering and the billing system,
To eliminate air ingress,
To improve water demand management,
To improve accountability,
To improve customer confidence and willingness to pay,
To reduce administration costs,
Cost of maintenance of water meters easier and convenient,
Advantages to residents, It puts you in control of your budget,
No more surprises caused by high water accounts or bills,
Only pay for what you use,
You can buy water to suit your pocket,
Your water will not be cut off unexpectedly,
The system ensures that leaks do not go undetected for too long.
There is less administration and the savings costs helps to keep prices affordable.
Frequently asked questions: How do I get a prepaid water meter? You simply complete a registration form available at our offices and submit it at your nearest council together with your current council bill for that property (stand).
Who can register for prepaid water metering? It is the property owners (or landlords) who qualify to register for prepaid water meters and will be given the tokens to access water
Do I pay anything to be connected to a prepaid meter? There is no payment required to connect a prepaid water meter or communal prepaid meter system. You need to buy your water units to access water.
Should I use my units of water in a case of fire, an emergency or funeral? Prepaid water metering allows you to use the emergency water for emergencies such as putting out of fires.
Once the allocation of emergency water is used before extinguishing the fire you use your water units to save your valuables. In the case of a funeral, council can load your token with a predetermined amount of water to compensate and augment the water requirements of the unfortunate event.
Why is water allocation in the high-density areas lower than in low-density areas? It has to do with the minimum amount of water required to keep the sewer systems flowing and flushed. Low-density has few houses per given area in comparison with high-density.
The higher allocation of water caters for the reduced numbers of properties thus the reduced flow in the sewer system.
What happens if air passes through my meter? Will I lose my water units? The meter is designed with an air valve that will let out air before it reaches the meter. Therefore, you will not have the problem of air spinning the meter thus eating away your water units.
How do I know how much water units are left in the token? When your water units are running low, the meter will make a distinct noise to indicate that you need to top up your water units
Will the prepaid water metering scheme be rolled out to the rest of the city? It is council’s intention to roll this programme throughout the city funds permitting.
Will a person be penalised if they lose a prepaid token? The token costs money and the loss of token will result in a fee being charged to replace it.
What should I do if I lose a token? Immediately contact the offices so that the lost token can be blocked from accessing water (especially for communal taps). A new one will be issued taking into account the information stored in the meter you were accessing water from.
Will prepaid water metering have free basic water? Yes. The free basic water will be built into the water tariffs. The free basic water is 5 000liters per month.
Can I carry over the balance of unspent free basic water or the daily water rationing allocations not used? There are no carryovers of unused allocations of free basic water or daily water rationing allocations.
Some residents have bypassed meters and are enjoying water for free. Will Council not encounter the same situation after installing prepaid water meters? The prepaid water meter software will enable council to detect any illegal bypasses or illegal water usage. Culprits caught with bypasses will be dealt with in terms of the prevailing laws.
Are there any additional charges besides the charge for water? Yes, there are. The prepaid water meter system will include your fixed charges such as rates, solid waste management charge, rent, fixed water and sewer charges.
Will I get the free basic water if I do not load water units or if I owe council? It all depends on how much you owe council. If your account is up to date you can access as much water as you can afford. However, if you owe, the meter will automatically disconnect your water supplies until you have made payment
Will water penalties continue in the prepaid water meters? Yes. The penalty charges will be inbuilt in the tariff structure of the prepaid water meters. This is to ensure that residents continue to conserve water.
Nesisa Mpofu is Bulawayo City Council’s senior public relations officer
