A Framework to support the development of Model By-laws (norms and standards) for Water Efficient Sanitation Solutions in municipalities

Over the last decade, there has been progress around innovation and the integration of social assessments with technical evaluations of Water Efficient Sanitation solutions (WESS). This is principally a paradigm shift from ancillary sanitation approaches to inclusive sanitation that is focused on ensuring safe sanitation practices and encompasses various types of technological solutions. This is especially relevant given the increasing acknowledgment worldwide that only centralised solutions, especially in smaller urban centres, may not be enough to ensure complete sanitation coverage or sustainable service delivery. In South Africa, service delivery delays are impacted by water scarcity (both from being a drought-prone country but also poor water management practices – South Africans on average use 37% more water per day than the global average). While moving away completely from centralised sanitation will take time, there is an urgent need to at least transition towards the inclusion of water-efficient sanitation solutions (WESS) as a service delivery option. WESS include non-sewered, off-grid or on-site and decentralised technologies and offer a sustainable response to challenges such as inadequate and unsafe sanitation, public health risks, environmental degradation and climatic impacts that result in disrupted services. Considering fast-growing cities, ageing infrastructure, poor management and performance of conventional wastewater treatment works, water insecurity and mismanagement, and extreme climatic events that result in destruction to bulk infrastructure, WESS ensures water savings by reducing reliance on water for flushing and conveyance. The sustainability criteria also promote resource recovery (water, energy and nutrients). From a national perspective, WESS implementation can assist with eradication of service delivery backlogs and open defaecation promoting public health and restoration of natural ecological bodies such as wetlands and rivers. In order for roll out WESS, an enabling regulatory framework through a model by-law is essential to aid in the adoption and implementation of these novel WESS. WESS are applicable in most settlement types (e.g., urban, peri-urban, rural, and small towns) and in different contexts (schools, informal settlements, low-cost housing, social housing schemes, green buildings and estates, including commercial buildings, hospitals and prisons).