WATER & WASTEWATER
Understanding your water consumption Regularly reading your municipal account and water meter is vital to understanding not only how you are billed, but also your consumption and whether there are any potential water leaks on your proper ty.
L
eaking taps can amount to water losses of up to 60 litres a day, while leaking toilets can waste an average of 400 litres per day. That’s 1.8 Kℓ and 12 Kℓ, respectively, ever y month. Water leaks can be ver y costly and are a large contributor to water wastage in South Africa. Knowing how to read your water meter is the first step in determining whether you have a leak. Your meter will normally be placed on the wall close to your front boundar y line, in a meter box. Anyone who is unable to find their water meter should contact their relevant municipality. Most water meters are volumetric and have a rolling counter (row of numbers) to indicate the amount of water used. This should be checked at the same time ever y month against your consumption histor y as well as your water bill. If your meter reading is unusually high, it may indicate a water leak. It is good practice to regularly checks for leaks as follows: 1. Ask all members of the house/building to stop using water. 2. After half an hour, take a reading on your water meter, making note of the red numbers.
3. W ait for another hour, ensuring that absolutely no water is being used in the house/building. 4. Take another reading. 5. Subtract the first reading from the second reading. 6. If there is a difference between these two amounts, this indicates a leak. It is good practice to read your meter regularly and per form leak tests to help save both water and money. Leaks should always be addressed timeously to prevent water wastage and high water bills. It is important to always close the stopcock to the house/building or the area where the leak is to be repaired before attempting to fix a leak, however, the stopcock should only be closed when absolutely necessar y, as the change in pressure that occurs when the valve is closed or opened can cause damage to pipes and pipe brackets. If you are uncertain as to how to repair a leak, consult a certified plumber.
Understanding your water bill You may not realise that you have a household or garden leak until you receive an abnormally large water bill. It is therefore important to read your bill correctly. Your municipal bill can contain two types of
Standard volumetric water meter (domestic meter) above and an older model dial meter below
LEAK DETECTION: TURN OFF ALL TAPS. MOVEMENT INDICATES A LEAK.
METER READING: 1234 KILOLITRES PLUS 567.8 LITRES
readings for water: an estimated reading or an actual reading. An estimated reading is given where the municipality does not actually take a reading from the meter at your property but rather uses an algorithm to estimate your consumption. An actual reading is given when a physical reading has been taken from your meter. It is impor tant to always check this reading against your meter and, where estimated readings greatly differ, aler t your municipality. Billing is typically based on kilolitre (1 000 litres) consumption and most municipalities bill consumers using a sliding scale. This means that the more water you use, the higher the rate per kilolitre you will pay. The City of Johannesburg, for example, applies a sliding scale as shown in Table 1. Actively practising Water Wise behaviour and reducing consumption will therefore reduce your water bill.
TABLE 1 City of Johannesburg water consumption sliding scale
18
Kilolitres per connection per month
2020/21 tariff (R/kℓ) – Price per kilolitre, excluding VAT
0 kℓ to 6 kℓ
No charge
From 6 kℓ to 10 kℓ
R18.99
From 10 kℓ to 15 kℓ
R19.82
From 15 kℓ to 20 kℓ
R27.79
From 20 kℓ to 30 kℓ
R38.40
From 30 kℓ to 40 kℓ
R42.00
From 40 kℓ to 50 kℓ
R52.99
IMIESA January 2021
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO BECOME WATER WISE, VISIT: facebook.com/WaterWiseRSA twitter.com/water_wise www.waterwise.co.za/site/home.html
