The Role of Water Boards in Water Safety Plan Implementation in South Africa

Water boards act as water services providers to water services authorities (local authorities) in most of the major metropolitan areas in South Africa. These water boards manage a significant portion of the water supply chain and influence both up and downstream activities in this chain. It thus stands to reason that these agencies play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of appropriate water management plans aligned to universally accepted practice. As a leader in the water industry in South Africa, Rand Water is well advanced in implementing a “customised” water safety plan in its area of operation, and has been requested by various stakeholders in the industry to assist with a similar process in other regions. During the development of the organisations' water safety plan it became evident that certain support systems had to be put in place to ensure successful implementation of such a plan. As a result, an additional procedure (procedure 11) was included in the water safety plan to address support activities such as communication, training/education and consumer relations. These support systems have been developed to address specific requirements of internal and external stakeholders/customers and cover the entire supply chain to ensure a sound understanding of all aspects influencing water supply.