A little device could save one million litres of water a day in Cape Town

Big corporates have stepped in to help schools in the drought-stricken Western Cape save 1-million litres of water a day.

In August TimesLIVE reported about a smart meter developed by academics at Stellenbosch University.

The meter transmits consumption information to an App and notifications about unexpected events‚ such as a burst pipe‚ are sent to the school via SMS and email. "Smart water metering not only aids behaviour change due to increased awareness about water consumption‚ it also assists with the prevention of water losses due to leads that would otherwise have gone unnoticed‚” ' said Professor Thinus Booysen from the university.

The devices were developed in conjunction with Bridgiot‚ a local start-up company.

Hector Peterson Secondary School in Wallacedene - which has more than 1‚200 pupils - participated in the pilot programme which saw them save 40kL of water a day. This translated to a R52‚000 saving per month.

“We are a non-fee paying school so any savings that can be realised are redirected to other projects‚ for example we have just introduced e-learning so now we can buy more computers and open up more access for the learners‚” said principal Mike Mavovana.

Three other schools participated in the pilot project and here water savings were also noted.

As a result the Shoprite Group will be sponsoring 100 of the highest water-using schools in Cape Town with a device. And CapeTalk radio has also pledged its support for the initiative.

In September Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille called on corporates to promote water-saving habits.