Water prices in South Africa have increased by 213% since 2010 and are likely to continue to increase into the future. Climate change is also likely to increase water shortages in many areas of South Africa. This means that schools are faced with significant water cost increases, which if not managed, will negatively affect school finances and reduce budgets for teaching staff, equipment and materials.

Fortunately, in many schools, water consumption can be managed fairly easily and sometimes significant savings can be achieved. The first steps in this process can be implemented by schools and do not require the input of professionals such as engineers and plumbers.  These steps are outlined below. Schools should note that no changes to electrical circuits should be made by anyone other than qualified electricians.

• Track: Develop a simple spreadsheet to track water consumption every month. Input kL figures from municipal bills. These can be cross-checked with figures from water meters. Plotting these figures will enable bills to be checked for accuracy and to build an understanding of consumption patterns over the year. Figures can be compared with other schools and benchmarks to ascertain whether performance is poor, reasonable or good and can be used to prompt further measures.  
• Create Awareness: Ensure that staff and students are aware of water costs and scarcity and use this carefully. This can be promoted through posters and communication that confirms that saving water not only reduces costs but also helps save the environment.
• Switch off: Develop procedures that ensure that taps, toilets and equipment that used water is switched off when not in use. For instance, staff can be asked to check that water is not being lost from open taps and leaking toilets.
• Upgrade: When equipment, such as taps and toilets is upgraded, make sure that water-efficient equipment is specified. For instance, new taps with aerators, dual flush toilets and waterless urinals are much more efficient than older taps, toilets and urinals.
• Plan ahead: Set water efficiency targets and develop projects and procedures to ensure that these are achieved. This includes coordinating a range of initiatives, such as the ones above, to ensure that energy efficiency is improved continuously.