ADDRESSING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL-USER RURAL WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Numerous studies have shown that the drinking-water quality in rural areas and small communities in South Africa is very poor. Water–borne disease has a direct impact on primary health in South Africa with diarrhoea alone being responsible for some 43 000 deaths per annum (Pegrum et al, 1998) and 20 % of all deaths in the one to five age group (Bourne and Coetzee, 1996). These matters are receiving significant government attention, and the Water Services Act (WSA) of 1997 and the National Water Act of 1998 herald some landmark changes in South African water law. The WSA and the associated draft Regulations oblige water service authorities to progressively ensure “efficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water services”. We are presently reminded as to the urgency for success in implementing rural water treatment by the ongoing cholera epidemic in South Africa in which in excess of 25 814 cases have been documented and 73 deaths have occurred (October 2001). A crucial consideration for implementation of rural water treatment is the sustainability thereof. This paper describes the operation of a membrane-based plant at a small, rural tow