Abstract
M.Ing.
With an ever-increasing population and a decrease in availability of fresh
water, the sustainable and secure supply of fresh water is a growing
concern worldwide, and particularly so in South Africa. Plumbing systems
have a significant impact on both the efficient use of water and water
losses because high quality plumbing components can reduce wastage
and leakage, while inferior components increase the risk of failures and
leakage and can even have health impacts in case of leaching of toxic
elements or contamination of drinking water. In recent years, South Africa
has seen a plethora of imported and pirated plumbing components
introduced onto the local market. While South African legislation requires
that only plumbing components approved by the South African Bureau of
Standards or Water Services Authorities (municipalities) shall be installed,
it does not explicitly prohibit the importation and sale of non-compliant
components. The availability of non-compliant components on the market
combined with insufficient enforcement of legislation, have created a
situation where many non-compliant components are installed, although
the extent of this problem was not known at the start of the project.
The study aimed to quantify the extent of non-compliant plumbing
components installed in South Africa, as well as the impact this will have
on future water demands and losses. Various research methods were
used including literature reviews, surveys and interviews with role players,
search of available plumbing components for sale in South Africa, on-site
visits and analysis of some case studies.
The study found that about 50% of plumbing components installed in
South Africa do not comply with legal requirements. Because these
components are of poor quality, they hurt the local industry whose
components cost more in order to comply with SABS standards.
Therefore, they suffer from reduced market share and lower profit margins,
and South African job losses occur in the sector. In general, compliant
Summary
components are up to 135% more expensive than non-compliant
components. This study also found that even plumbers who are IOPSA
members, and therefore bound by a code of conduct to use only compliant
components, install non-compliant components. The site visits to some
government low-cost housing developments showed that less than 10% of
the plumbing components installed were compliant, and a major problem
with non-compliant components was leakage. Therefore if the situation
does not change, on-site water leaks will remain a great concern in South
Africa.
In order to address this situation the main suggestions are better
enforcement of legislation, better training and control of plumbers and
restrictions on the importation of non-compliant components.