Water Conservation Project

Water Conservation Project “Saving Water One Drop at a Time”

In 2021 triple-P launched the water conservation project to save potable water loss through water leaks. In South Africa, 37% of our clean drinking water is lost through water leaks. Poor water infrastructure maintenance, vandalism, illegal water connections and lack of water conservation awareness are the major contributing factors to severe water losses. These factors are also experienced in public schools where water leaks are a persistent issue causing schools that already operate on a small budget to pay high water bills. Water leaks in schools also compromise sanitation, as most leaking toilets become unusable.

Our study shows that, on average, a school loses 800 000 litres of potable water through water leaks annually.

Which is the equivalent of 42 000 buckets of water.

Population growth and industrial development are estimated to increase water demand by 32% by 2030.

Water loss puts the country's economy at risk, poses a significant threat to socio-economic development and places pressure on natural water resources while trying to meet the water demands.

Water loss has posed a liability of R7 billion a year on the South African government.

37% of our potable water is lost through water leaks from dripping taps, damaged toilet cisterns, burst pipes and illegal water connections, and most of these leaks go undetected.

Since its inception, the project has had incredible success in saving significant water and drastically improving water use efficiency in targeted schools. More recently, the project has unlocked an opportunity for food and beverage companies to contribute towards water stewardship interventions by replenishing water in areas where they operate with the equivalent amount of water used in their production.

Through triple-P's water stewardship activities, corporates can meet their water replenishment targets and Corporate Social Responsibility whilst contributing positively to the growing water crisis.

The project achieved a replenishment of 13 908 000 litres of potable water by fixing water leaks in seventeen schools in Durban. A total of 167 leaking taps, 154 leaking toilets, and 105 burst pipes were fixed and replaced. In addition to fixing water leaks, the project also facilitates education, awareness sessions, and skills development to change behaviours towards water misuse. This year we are working on assisting more schools to improve their water infrastructure and save millions of litres of water.

The project also contributes towards job creation by providing jobs to qualified unemployed plumbers in the areas where the project is activated.

Help us raise funds to improve water & sanitation infrastructures in 50 schools across South Africa.

R120 000 (US$7000) per school will allow us to replace and fix water & sanitation facilities leading to severe water loss in each school.

triple-P will be training & upskilling school caretakers on plumbing maintenance as well as conducting follow up visits to monitor and measure how much water is being saved in each school through this project.

Help us reach our goal:

Research shows that South Africa will experience a 17% potable water deficit by 2030 should our water challenges persist. We are looking for partners to join us on this water-saving journey. Click here to find out how you could partner with us.

Our work is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). This project is contributing towards SDG4 - Quality Education, SDG6 - Clean Water and Sanitation & SDG8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all