LOCKDOWN: WATER DEMAND DOWN 10%

MBABANE – Eswatini Water Services Corporation’s revenue could decline following a notable dip in demand for water due to closure of some industries and institutions.

From March 27 this year, the country enforced a partial lockdown to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus. Eswatini had recorded over 30 cases at the time of compiling this report. This led to the closure of business like salons, bars, clothing retailers and institutions that include schools and universities, among others. As a result, the overall demand for water declined by at least 10 per cent.

This has been confirmed by EWSC Public Affairs and Customer Service Nomahlubi Matiwane in a response to a questionnaire sent by this publication last Thursday.

decreased

“Domestic demand has increased but the overall water demand has decreased by 10 per cent, as industries and other high-water consumers like schools and tertiary institutions are closed,” she said.

The decreased demand could lead to a decline in revenue for EWSC, at least for now. The operating revenue was last recorded at E335.1 million (2018).  It was a 12 per cent growth as compared to the E298.7 million figures of 2017. The increased figures were attributed to tariff increment and growth as well as operational efficiencies of 4.8 per cent.

Water is not only an essential service for both businesses and individuals these days, but it comes in handy in the bid to flatten the coronavirus virus curve. People are urged to wash their hands with clean running water and soap to protect themselves from the virus.

Based on the current dam levels and river flows, Matiwane said she believed the company would able to meet demand going into the next rain season. She was responding to a question regarding the threat of the current winter season which is characterised by little or no rain.
“We continue to encourage our customers to use water sparingly as it is a finite resource,” she said.

payment

Matiwane further clarified why it was difficult to temporarily suspend the payment of water bills even during this period.
“The payment holiday option may not arise in our instance primarily because EWSC has an inherent grace period in the billing and collection system for a period of two months. EWSC further allows for payment terms upon customer requests. This option is open for all customers who may need it.

“EWSC encourages continued payment by customers during this period as none payment poses a risk to our ability to continue supply.  Ensuring consistent and quality water supply has never been more critical, hence timely payment will help EWSC to ensure business continuity. EWSC depends entirely on customers paying their monthly bills for the services provided,” she stressed.

consumption

Meanwhile, some experts claim that industrial water consumption is a major drain on the world’s limited water supply. By 2030, water demand is expected to exceed the current supply by 40 per cent, according to the Water Resources Group, an arm of the World Bank.  Other industries that are believed to be consuming a lot of water include textiles and garments, meat production, beverage industry and automotive manufacturing, among others. 

“The garment and textile industry is one of the most water-intensive industries in the world. In fact, creating a single pair of jeans requires close to 7 600 litres of water. Water is primarily used for the fabric dyeing process as well as ‘wet processing’.

“It takes between 680 and 1 241 litres to produce a 2-litre bottle of soda; 75 litres of water to make a pint of beer;
140 litres of water to produce the ingredients to make a single cup of coffee,” reported the Water Footprint Network. The thirstiest crops are said to be wheat, corn, rice cotton and sugarcane.

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