0 Project Amanzi Prepared for City of Cape Town May 2009

1 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings Summary

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3 The research need The City of Cape Town …manages the local governance of Cape Town and therefore has the important responsibility of delivery basic services. The City fulfils its mandate for the provision of basic water supply and sanitation services to business and residents of Cape Town via the Department of Water and Sanitation, Become a leader in the provision of equitable, sustainable, people-centred, affordable and credible water services for all. Vision of the Department of Water and Sanitation: Realising these objectives rests upon: 1 Identifying and confirming residents’ and businesses’ needs Measuring and improving satisfaction levels 2 Evaluate the current level of service provided Understand the future needs of residents and businesses Identify key areas for improvement The research need is therefore to:

4 Project design Business survey Formal resident survey Business researchResident research Sample size: 50 Businesses registered on RSC Levy database (2004) CATI (Computer Assisted Telephonic interviews) 9 – 20 March 2009 Informal resident survey Sample size: 150 Residents of informal residential areas Face-to-face interviews 10 March – 1 April 2009 Sample size: 450 Residents of formal residential areas Face-to-face interviews 10 March – 1 April 2009

5 What? Why? How? Whom? How many? When?  Perception and satisfaction survey  Evaluate the current level of service provided by the Dept of Water and Sanitation; understand the future needs of businesses; inform the development planning agenda for the City of Cape Town  Quantitative research design  Telephonic interviews  20-minute questionnaire in English or Afrikaans  Businesses within the City of Cape Town  Registered on the RSC Levy database  Respondents randomly selected off lists  Respondent must be in a position to provide feedback on water and sanitation service delivery  Total sample of 50  In field from 9-20 March 2009 Sample and methodology Please note that due to a revised questionnaire in 2009, this data is not comparable with previous years’ data

6 Wave 1 (n=500) Wave 2 (n=500) Giving your business an uninterrupted water supply The Mayor being effective at dealing with issues facing the City Refuse being regularly removed from your place of work3.7 Regularly receiving your account from City of Cape Town3.7 Convenient payment options for municipal services, licenses and fines Accounts from city of Cape Town being clear and understandable3.6 Effectively providing sewerage and sanitation services where you work3.5 Sufficient access to your business being provided by the road networks Your accounts from City of Cape Town always being correct3.3 There being sufficient street lighting in the area that you work Water restrictions being effectively managed Scale: 1=Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Good, 4=Very good, 5=Excellent These are the top ratings from Project Robben, with comparisons vs 2007/8 Snippets from Project Robben (Business)

7 Demographics Base: n=50 D1, D2 56% 44% Home language

8 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

9 Base: n=50 Q.23, Q24 Type of industry and water usage The majority of the businesses interviewed operate in dry industries, i.e. water is not used in processes or product and use water only for general use such as drinking, washing and watering plants Base: n=50

10 Q.2a,2b Base: n=50 Frequency of problems with water leakages and burst pipes Water leakages and burst water pipes are very seldom experienced The most frequent problem with water leakages are in the street Problems with burst pipes are minimal Water leakages…

11 Contact when experiencing problems with water leakages, toilet systems or sewers Q.2c Base: n=50 When experiencing problems on private property, most often a plumber is contacted while, when experiencing problems offsite or a leak at the meter, the local office is contacted Low usage (and maybe awareness?) of TOC, Corporate Call Centre and #107 with heavy reliance on businesses’ local municipal office

12 Base: n=50 Q.9 Awareness of bylaws There is a high level of awareness that it is illegal to let industrial waste water into the storm water system while less than half are aware that it is illegal to let rain water into the sewer system

13 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

14 Q.1a,1b,1c Base: n=50 Satisfaction with provision of services 82% of users are satisfied with the overall performance of the City of Cape Town in providing water and sanitation services Customers are most satisfied with the provision of drinking water on tap with an 88% satisfaction level Servicing the sewer drainage system had fewer satisfied users although still high at 72% GOAL: To ensure an 80% satisfaction level of all customers in the provision of basic water services SOURCE: Water Services Vision, November % 88% 72%

Importance Rating of City of Cape Town Not at all important Extremely important PoorExcellent Ensures environmentally friendly waste water systems Provides the regular clearing of sewers to prevent blockages Ensures that water services are affordable Provides accurate billings based on actual monthly meter readings Provides information with billings Restores service within 6 hours after an unplanned interruption Ensures adequate water pressure during peak supply Ensures that the quality of water meets national drinking water standards Extends water and sanitation services to all Encourages people to pay for the water and sanitation services that they use Ensures that people obey legislation about the use or misuse of water Ensures that the municipality uses water wisely Encourages business to use water wisely Encourages the public to use water wisely Minimises the loss of water Provides a reliable supply of water Sustainable provision of water for future generations Provides polite, effective and efficient communication to the community City of Cape Town Water and Sanitation Department is for the most part performing extremely well and delivering to demands All aspects may be considered priority areas except, maybe, providing information with billings Importance and performance

16 Rating of City of Cape Town regarding infrastructural elements Q.5b Average excludes none/don’t know Base: n=50 Above average Below average Ave. score

17 Rating of City of Cape Town regarding customer elements Base: n=50 Ave. score Q.5b Average excludes none/don’t know Above average Below average

18 Base: n=50 Q.8a,8b Perceived cost of water and sewerage services Mostly respondents don’t know how expensive water and sewerage services are relative to the rest of the country However just over a quarter think the cost of water in Cape Town compared to the rest of the country is greater

19 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

20 Base: n=42 Q.4c Most used point of contact for the municipality regarding water or sanitation services The City Call Centre – is the most commonly used method followed by local municipality

21 Last dealt with the municipality Q.4a Base: n=50 Very infrequent interaction with the municipality: More than half the sample have never dealt with the municipality or dealt with them longer than a year ago However, 1 in 5 businesses have enquired about their account or water reading in the past month

22 Last dealt with the municipality – most recent interactions Q.4a Base: n=50 In the last year 42% of respondents reported to the municipality a blocked sewer on the property However, for this same problem the majority (52%) contacted a plumber to resolve it 40% of respondents have dealt with the municipality within the past year to enquire about their water/sewer account 38% of respondents have dealt with the municipality within the past year to enquire about the water meter or meter readings Another focus area is the development and maintenance of effective communication channels to facilitate enquiries about water accounts and water meter problems

23 Manner in which problem was dealt with by municipality Base: n=42 Q.4b 81% 17% 72% 24% 65% 33% 55% Although contact with the municipality was generally rated well there are some areas to address: 55% of respondents disagreed that the municipality had followed up to find out if the problem had been sorted out A third of respondents were dissatisfied with the time taken to resolve the problem But Almost three quarters felt they were immediately directed to the correct person and even more felt they were treated in a professional and courteous way Improvement areas

24 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

25 Areas that should be give special attention Q.20 Water Issues: Quality – the standard and testing of water Improving the water system – supply, pressure and leakages Saving water – recycling and reducing wastage Sewerage system Working order – maintenance and upgrade of drains and drainage systems Servicing and responsiveness – problems attended to timeously Communication Education – educating people about the usage of water Informative – notifying people about water cuts and if water is not clean Base: n=50 Other areas needing attention included: Responsiveness to problems, Sanitation and cleanliness, Billings, Cost, Preventing blockages, Maintenance and Meter readings

26 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

27 Responsible water use Base: n=50 Q.14a, 7 56% 42% 100% 80% 10% 52% 42% 58% 38% All respondents felt it is their responsibility to report water leaks and overflowing sewers There was high agreement that industrial waste pollutes our rivers Almost 6 in 10 believe businesses adhere to water restrictions and are conscious of conserving water And approximately 4 in 10 businesses disagree about restricting water supply to those can afford to but don’t pay All respondents regard the regulation of water services as important

28 Alternate water source and incidence of recycling water Base Q22a, Q22b: Alternate water sources on property and source (n=6) Base Q22c: Alternate water source mainly used for (n=6) 12% reported to have an alternate water source (6 respondents) Of the 6 respondents: 5 make use of a borehole 3 use the water mainly to water the garden Only 14% of businesses recycled water, which is marginal Base 19: (n=50)

29 Base: n=50 Q.11a.11b Base: Respondents who have changed their behaviour to conserve water (n=21*) Behaviour changed over the past year to conserve water *Caution: small base size About 4 in 10 businesses have changed their behaviour in the past year to conserve water; the main reason being price increases Reasons for behaviour change How did behaviour change? 5 don’t know 2 started recycling water 5 implemented staff training 10 implemented various other water conservation techniques such as changing how water is used and watching leaking taps

30 Base: n=50 Q.11h,11e,11i Water efficient fittings Base: Respondents who are planning on installing water efficient fittings (n=12)** **Caution extremely small base size Of the 12 respondents who are planning on installing a water efficient fitting: 4 are planning on doing so in the next 6 months 2 in the next 2 to 5 years 5 sometime in the future, but not sure when There is a very low incidence of water efficient fittings being installed and a very small likelihood of this increasing in the near future For the 34 respondents not planning on installing this fitting: 38% do not have a reason why 9% say it’s for budgeting reasons 3% say it’s because they’re changing their business Base: Respondents who are not planning on installing water efficient fittings (n=34)*

31 Base: n=50 Q.18 Claimed future behaviour Financial incentive could prove pivotal in getting business to use water wisely Likelihood of changing water usage if rising tariff scale was introduced Likelihood of using treated water Of the 17 respondents** whose businesses use water for watering gardens, in industrial or manufacturing processes or as an ingredient of a manufactured product (and not just for general purposes) 8 claim to be very likely to use treated water at a fraction of the current price 4 claim to be fairly likely And 5 claim to not be at all likely

32 Base: n=50 Q.17 Options aware of if business required continuous water supply There is very low awareness of the options available for a continuous water supply to a business

33 Introduction and Background Demographics Findings User behaviour Importance and satisfaction Dealing with the municipality Suggestions for improvements Responsible water usage Summary

34 Summary The majority of business consumers are satisfied with the service provided by the City of Cape Town, particularly with respect to providing drinking water on tap, however satisfaction with the servicing of the sewer drainage system is lower and needs to be improved to achieve the goal of 80% These high satisfaction levels are underpinned by infrequently experienced problems related to water and sanitation. Interaction with the municipality has been very limited however there are two areas for improvement: Blocked sewers on site or on property and the resolution thereof (this was the most frequently reported on problem; a problem for which most respondents also turned to a plumber for resolution) Ensuring systems are in place to handle and resolve account and meter reading enquiries For the most part respondents were treated well during their interaction with the municipality however two areas could be improved upon: Follow up Resolving issues in a reasonable time Local office is the most used contact for offsite problems while the City Call Centre is the primary contact for the municipality

35 Of the service elements identified, all emerged as priority areas; however the Water and Sanitation Services department was rated highly on these aspects and as such can be considered to be delivering upon demands Overall, the infrastructural elements performed better than the customer and communication elements There are however relative weaknesses in both spheres of service delivery: Infrastructural Satisfactory taste Environmentally friendly waste water systems Minimising the loss of water Regularly clearing sewers Customer and communication Encouraging the public, businesses and the municipality to use water wisely Ensuring legislation is obeyed Affordable water services Polite, effective and efficient communication Providing information with billings Accurate billings Summary

36 There is very low incidence among businesses of: Recycling water Alternative water sources Water efficient fittings All respondents believe it is important to regulate water services and have relatively high awareness of bylaws Almost 6 in 10 respondents believe businesses adhere to water restrictions and are conscious of conserving water (yet relatively few have in fact adjusted their behaviour for this purpose) Communication aimed specifically at businesses may increase awareness of how to conserve water and the need for this to be done thereby impacting on behaviour and removing the attitude that other businesses will do it Using financial incentive could also be used as a motivating factor to get business to use water more wisely Summary

37 Thank You