Blue Elephants in the Room

The water obsession continues!!!

I today downloaded from the Joburg Municipality Website, the Draft 2022/2023 Tariffs and specifically looked at the proposed Water Tariffs. This coincided with the previous blog post of the 18th April 2022, entitled The AquaStop™ Effect 2022, which talks about the water savings we are presently achieving at Bramley Primary.

I somehow needed to understand the anticipated increase cost for water, which I encountered on ITEM 45 JOBURG WATER TARIFFS, where the very first page (Page 45.1) states (as detailed in the above extract):

“Institutional tariffs (including Schools) to be increased by 11.85% for consumption up to 200 KL and consumption exceeding 200 KL by 14.85% to narrow the gap compared to commercial tariff (Offices and factories, etc).”

It took a while to understand the implications of this, as I have to confess, I was busy assuming the “general increase” would be the 9.75% , which repeated itself several time in the few paragraphs.

On closer inspection, I realised the increase water tariff for schools (as an Institution) for the year 2022/2023 will be 11.85% for consumption up to 200KL, rising to 14.85% for consumption above 200KL.

Page 45.33 refers to: 3.2. Industrial / Commercial  (a) For each kilolitre or part thereof of the metered or estimated water consumption: R 39.41/KL irrespectively post or prepayment, which is a basic increase of the said 9.75% for Sanitation (Sewage Charges).

Page 45.6 also noted the anticipated water tariff for 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 of approximately 10% each year.

Therefore, by July 2024 (three tariff increase cycles, where the first is just 90 days away, followed by the 2nd and 3rd in 12 and 24 months respectively), our schools water costs will increase from the present R80.00/KL to R90.00/KL in July 2022, to R99.00/KL in July 2023 to R109.00/KL in July 2024, increasing the “average Primary school annual water costs” from the present R370,000 to R500,000 in July 2024.

The incentive to save water through excellent planned maintenance and renewal of infrastructure is paramount. Your school may also consider following the lead of Bryanston Primary in Johannesburg, who recently installed a Borehole Water Treatment Plant, which has paid for itself in less than 7-months.

These values are all fact base, leaving your school with two basic choices: Doing Something or Doing Nothing. 

For further information contact: mail@suntricity.co.za or call on 011 534 8695.