City continues COVID-19 temporary emergency services in informal settlements
1 February 2021
Water and Sanitation Department's emergency services plan for informal settlements.The City’s Informal Settlements Basic Services (ISBS) branch, within the Water and Sanitation Department, 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 programme focused on increasing access to water and sanitation, given the importance of personal hygiene in mitigating the spread of the virus through communities. 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. 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.
The City’s COVID-19 emergency programme has seen impressive amounts of water – over 160 million litres – delivered temporarily through a combination of trucks and plastic (‘Jojo’) style tanks to these communities who were established prior to the pandemic on privately-owned land, on sand dunes, on train tracks, in stormwater detention ponds, and on other land where there are constraints to the City’s ability to provide conventional services.
The emergency services plan has been implemented very successfully to date, thanks to good cooperation between communities, City teams, ward councillors and subcouncils.
Actioning the large-scale plan has largely been made possible through the City’s reprioritisation of more than R263,5 million grant funding from the allocations of relevant City departments to pay for the service.
Over the coming months, starting on Monday, 1 February 2021, the City’s temporary emergency services plan will be transitioning to a sustainable service based on the City’s available resources.
The updates of the temporary services are as follows:
| COVID-19 temporary emergency service
| Update |
307 ‘jojo-style’ water tanks have been installed in various informal settlements throughout the city. They are filled by the water trucks.
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. In the meantime, communities who have tanks, 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 160 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, although at a reduced frequency.
The emergency contract that was procured by the City for the delivery of water trucks specifically to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end on 31 January 2021. However, the department has produced a contingency plan that relies on internal resources to continue providing this emergency service, albeit at a reduced frequency.
There were 14 trucks as part of an emergency contract and residents were receiving water every second day.
From 1 February, 14 City trucks are available to deliver water. Only eight of these will be primarily earmarked for this emergency service. The other six will be deployed to assist this service, should they not be required for other purposes such as emergency supply in the event of a burst pipe.
It is currently intended that each area will be visited approximately every third or fourth day. The revised delivery schedules have been finalised and will be communicated to communities via ward councillors and subcouncils. |
| 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 services will continue up until at least the end of June 2021.
Currently toilets are being serviced four times a week and janitorial services are being provided six days a week. |
| 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 has been working towards providing a sustainable water service, within our available resources. Officials have been hard at work preparing and in the process of connecting tanks and standpipes where possible to our water network to alleviate the pressure on the trucks and to ensure residents have access to water over the coming months. About half of the trucks are used to only fill up water tanks.
‘In the meantime, from 1 February 2021, residents will receive water via trucks based on the revised timetable. The increased servicing and janitorial services to all toilet types will continue.
‘The City is continuously monitoring and assessing the temporary water and sanitation emergency services being provided and will make amendments where needed.
‘When reflecting on what has been a very challenging period, I would like to thank all stakeholders, including communities, ward councillors, subcouncils, other government spheres, as well as City officials, who have all worked together to implement this COVID-19 temporary emergency response plan,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office