The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is reflecting on the continued efforts to provide basic water and sanitation services to residents in about 257 000 households in informal settlements across Cape Town. Since the pandemic, the City has also rolled out its Covid-19 temporary emergency services programme to areas where access to water is limited due to legal or technical factors on the land. Efforts are ongoing to assess and improve basic services to communities in informal settlements.

The City currently provides about 57 000 toilets of various typologies, with associated janitorial services, and 7 640 taps to about 257 000 households in recognised informal settlements city-wide.

‘The City budgets about R33 million per financial year on the capital budget to put infrastructure in place to provide basic water and sanitation services to registered informal settlements. Services are provided in a planned manner based on available budget.

Since the pandemic, the City has reprioritised approximately R263,5 million grant funding from the allocations of relevant City departments to pay for water and sanitation for additional services during the 2019/2020 as well as the 2020/2021 financial year. For the 2021/22 operating budget, an additional amount of R88,5 million was made available to continue with the service levels of the temporary service until June 2022. During the mid-year adjustment budget, this amount was increased to approximately R98m.

‘The City was the first to establish janitorial teams for informal settlements to clean the toilets.

‘Over the past eight years, the City has created 17 000 work opportunities through the janitorial service for the cleaning and servicing of all the toilets,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.

Existing services:

• 57 000 toilets

A number of different toilet typologies are available for communities. Selection depends on the circumstances which are unique to each informal settlement, related to factors such as the typology and ownership of the land, as well as space constraints.

The City’s first choice is to install traditional full-flush toilets, and it does so wherever this is legally and physically possible. Currently, more than 14 000 full-flush toilets have been installed where possible. However it is not always possible to install full-flush infrastructure, and constraints include land that is privately owned, situated in a wetland, or on a sand dune.

Space is also often a factor. Formal ablution blocks can only be installed in certain parts of an informal settlement where there is space for laying of pipes or construction of toilet blocks.

Where the City is not able to install full-flush toilets, residents are provided with alternative sanitation solutions, including portable flush toilets (PFTs), container toilets, and chemical toilets, where possible.

Currently, approximately 21 000 chemical and container toilets have been provided where it is not possible to install full-flush toilets.

Approximately 22 000 portable flush toilets have also been provided to individual households in areas where there are safety concerns related to using formal ablution facilities during the night and where accessibility for the other toilet types are a challenge for residents. PFTs are also suitable for people with disabilities and whose mobility is generally limited. This service can be provided on request.

• 7640 taps provided and more installed annually

The City provides more than 700 taps as an annual target for water installation where it is legally and physically possible to do so. Space, the type of land and whether there is existing underground pipelines to which new taps can be connected, are some of the factors that need to be considered when installing taps.

Covid-19 temporary emergency services

The City’s Informal Settlements Basic Services (ISBS) branch produced a Covid-19 Response Programme, including an implementation plan, early on in the lockdown period, in line with the National Declaration of Disaster. This corresponded with the broad City initiative.

‘The City has been providing this temporary service based on available resources while complying with legislation. The focus has been in particular on underserviced communities due to settlements being on privately-owned land or where permanent services cannot be installed due to issues such as the suitability of the land and legal factors. The disaster declaration enabled the City to temporarily expand its reach to residents it would not ordinarily be able to service due to legislative and other constraints,’ said Councillor Badroodien.

This temporary service continues until the end of June. See the update below:

Covid-19 temporary emergency service Update

307 'jojo-style' water tanks have been installed in various informal settlements. They are filled by the water trucks until they are connected to the water supply.

214 of these were donated by the National Department of Water and Sanitation.

The tanks are in the process of being progressively connected to the water supply network. Currently, 97% of the tanks have been connected to the water supply network and no longer rely on the water trucks to be filled.

In the meantime, communities who have tanks that still need to be connected to the network, will continue to receive water delivery via trucks at a reduced frequency.

Interim stand pipes will also be provided, wherever possible, while work is under way to connect the tanks.

Water trucks

Since lockdown, more than 262 million litres of safe drinking water have been delivered to 173 informal settlements that have been identified as being in need of water at the start of the pandemic.

* The focus has been in particular on underserviced communities due to settlements being on privately-owned land, newly established or where permanent services cannot be installed due to issues such as the suitability of the land. The disaster declaration enabled the City to temporarily expand its reach to residents it would not ordinarily be able to service due to legislative and other constraints.

Water delivery via trucks will continue based on available resources.

Mobile standpipes are also provided where possible, in addition to the water trucks services.

Increased janitorial services and servicing of toilets to all informal settlements

These services are provided to all informal settlements where toilets have been provided.

These increased temporary services will continue until the end of the current FY.

Toilets are serviced four times a week and janitorial services are provided six days a week. This will continue into the 2021/2022 financial year.

2 297 additional chemical toilets were issued to areas where there is no sanitation due to factors related to the land ownership and type of land.

This is completed.

‘The City’s Water and Sanitation team will continue to work with the Human Settlements Directorate team who is responsible for the management of informal settlements as well as assessing the needs of the more recently unlawfully occupied areas where the provision of services is not always possible due to land not being earmarked or planned for human settlements, among others. Much work is under way to address this complex situation,’ said Councillor Badroodien.

Source: City Of Cape Town