1. Why am I on a water schedule?

The current water capacity design of some of our systems only allows us to supply certain areas at a time. As a consequence, schedules must be maintained to supply several areas at different times.

2. Why does WASA dig the roads after the Ministry of Works and Transport has paved it?

The machinery used in the road paving exercise are heavy and quite often create tremors that cause leaks in our pipelines buried under the roadway. When this occurs WASA must dig the roadway to effect repairs to the pipelines.

3. What does WASA do with the water after the sewerage treatment process?

Effluent from wastewater treatment plants are discharged into nearby rivers and streams, it is not recycled for any direct human use.

4. Does WASA treat groundwater or water from wells?

Yes. Groundwater or water extracted from wells is a major source of water for WASA accounting for approximately 30% of total water production. Treatment processes for well water involves chlorination and sometimes filtration.

5. Why do I receive a discoloured (brown) supply of water?

Most instances of discoloured water supply are due to the scouring of encrusted pipelines on the distribution system. This, when reported can be helped through flushing of the system.

6. What is Reuse Water?

Wastewater, also known as sewage, is water that has been used in homes, industries and business that is not for reuse unless treated by a wastewater facility. Treated wastewater can be reused for irrigation and industrial purposes. This has several benefits, which includes the conservation of potable water, which can be distributed to domestic customers and conservation of ground and surface water sources. Also, it is more economical compared to developing new water sources and can provide industries with a reliable source of water, and tends to be cheaper than other water supplies. Additionally, it is the only source of water that automatically increases with increased activity and population growth.

7. Why is the water sometimes white?

Contrary to popular belief, water supply that appears cloudy is not due to excess chlorine in the water but rather due to air that is trapped in the water.

8. What is desalination?

Desalination refers to the processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water. Water is desalinated in order to be converted to fresh water suitable for human consumption. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of water is limited.

9. What are the benefits of desalination?

Benefits include abundance of the water source, minimal reliance on extended delivery systems, the opportunity for local control of water of water supplies, reduced dependence on other water sources, high quality potable water and a reliable water source even in times of drought and dry season.

10. What are the environmental implications of desalination?

Environmental concerns include air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the power plants that provide electricity and/or thermal energy to the desalination plants.
In addition, regardless of the method used, there is always a highly concentrated waste product consisting of everything that was removed from the created fresh water. This is sometimes referred to as brine, which is also a common term for the byproduct of recycled water schemes that is often disposed of in the ocean.

11. Why is WASA having a tariff review?

In an effort to remedy the evident water problems that are affecting our country, it has become necessary to establish a complete re-engineering of the Authority with the objective to help WASA become financially viable while undertaking network maintenance and expansion to provide improved levels of service to customers. At present, the current tariff structure does not meet operational costs and as such, the review is aimed at promoting the efficient use of water as well as simplifying the tariff structure in a manner that promotes customer satisfaction.

12. Is WASA going to install meters at home and what would be the impact?

Universal Metering will become a reality in the not too distant future. When Universal Metering comes into fruition, this will mean that water consumption will be the basis for customer billings.