Community involvement in the maintenance of urban water systems : a proposed experiment in Dipaleseng Local Municipality

Abstract

The South African Constitution declares that everyone has the right to access sufficient water. However, with the current challenges of water scarcity and poor water infrastructure, it is impossible to fulfill these rights. The study basically deals with community involvement in the maintenance of the urban water system in Dipaleseng Municipality. The research study was conducted in the format of a case-study investigation, in which the potential strategies and the effects of involving the community in the maintenance of the local water infrastructure were investigated. A qualitative interpretative approach was used in attempting to establish proper community involvement procedures, as well as the perceptions of the community as regards the maintenance of their local potable water supply and the wastewater treatment system. The literature study and the empirical investigation have both shown that it is possible to persuade the community to participate in some aspects of the local water governance and maintenance. There are already examples of successful local initiatives in various parts of the world. From the empirical evidence collected in Dipaleseng Local Municipality, it is evident that the community has the potential and the willingness to resolve their own problems. It is recommended in the study that the Municipality should create a platform of communication that is conducive to a climate of active civil society participation in the project of maintaining urban water system. It could be of value, in the sense that it could lead to the effective maintenance of the local water infrastructure. It could also contribute to making the local community self-reliant and confident enough to resolve their water related problems themselves. Moreover, through community involvement, the community could acquire skills, such as plumbing - and many more skills that are needed - to build and maintain the water supply system.