Prepaid Water Meter System

There is an increasing awareness in South Africa that water is limited and that careful management should be applied when dealing with this scarce resource. In recent years, we have witnessed recurring protests in townships and informal settlements around South Africa arising from disputes over housing, water, and electricity, which are often accompanied by violence against material infrastructures (ripping out of pipes and meters, spilling sewage and trash outside municipal buildings).This essay will argue for and against the prepaid water meter system with regard to its advantages and disadvantages as viewed by the people verses the government.

What is a prepaid water meter? www.apf.org.za states that there are several types of prepaid water meters but the idea behind them is the same. If you cannot pay upfront, you are unable to access water. Water from prepaid water meters typically cost more than water billed from the utility. As a result, those in most need are denied access to water. www.apf.org.za goes on to say, that in the United States, the typical prepaid water meter is used in areas without access to water infrastructure. The users are poor, often immigrant workers, who travel long distances to collect water from the meters. To get water you drop quarters into the slot and place your bucket at the faucet.

A similar type of meter has been used in South Africa where prepaid water meters replaced previous free communal standpipes in rural townships. The meter worked by inserting a plastic card with a chip that could be bought for R60.In order to get more water, money can be added to the card at a store. Other prepaid types of prepaid water meters are used in individual homes; this system was used in the United Kingdom. In the Philippines, new solar-powered water pumping station works with prepaid cards. Each user needs an AquaCard which is inserted into a meter attached to a solar pumping station. When water is dispensed the card is debited. A