Corporate battle to save water for schools

Corporate South Africa has entered the ring to fight - for good.

Companies have pledged millions of rand to help schools save water in the drought-stricken Western Cape.

Last week Shoprite announced that it would sponsor the 100 highest water consuming schools with a new Smart Water Meter developed by academics at Stellenbosch University.

CapeTalk radio joined as a partner in the initiative and has since received several pledges‚ on air‚ from companies such as Premier Foods which promised R1.5-million for 50 meters. According to the radio station a total of 67 devices has been sponsored by companies.

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.

Education MEC Debbie Schäffer announced that their aim is to install 270 devices "if the Shoprite/Cape Talk" challenge is successful. This could save up to 10 million litres a day‚ if these schools achieve the savings Hector Peterson Secondary School did.

''We have put in place an agreement with Bridgiot and Shoprite to drive a campaign to encourage the private sector and any other donors to contribute to installing the meters on a 60/40 basis.

In terms of the agreement‚ the WCED will provide funds to schools to cover 40% of the installation and operating costs‚ if donors contribute 60% to the costs‚'' said Schäffer.

"This is an excellent example of the private sector rising to the challenge of a crisis‚ and working with all parties on a solution. I must thank each and every company that has pledged to this water meter initiative."

CapeTalk radio host Kieno Kammies said he often encourages proactive suggestions for problems. Booysen told him about the device and he decided to discuss it on air.

"This is how Shoprite execs got to hear about it and‚ in true form‚ they acted immediately‚'' said Kammies.

"This is a great example of how tech start-ups and solutions can partner with big business to deliver impact‚ which in this case will result in a massive effort to delay day zero‚ and give sufficient time to stop it from happening altogether.”