Playpumps have made collecting water in many rural areas fun. Children on brightly painted merry-go-rounds make the task easier for thousands of women who walk a long way to a water source.
The merry-go-rounds’ action pumps water from an underground source into an overhead reservoir, using a patented South African invention called a playpump.
In terms of the amount of water available per person, South Africa’s water supply is considered to be the 26th most stressed in the world. The country also uses about 50% more water than it can afford to.
Designed by Roundabout Outdoor, the playpumps not only offer rural South Africans easier access to clean and fresh water, but also help to curb wastage of the precious liquid.
Towards the end of 1999 the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry entered into a public-private partnership with Roundabout Outdoor, with the intention of delivering quality water to all South Africans by 2008. Eskom has joined the partnership by providing funding for some of the playpumps.
Eskom entered 12 different projects in the Investing in the Future Awards 2003 and the judges singled out this entry for its innovation and social relevance. Although Eskom’s participation in the partnership is relatively new, the judges felt this was a good example of a corporation making a difference by investing in a worthy project that benefits society.
Says Herman Diale, Eskom’s corporate social investment consultant: ‘Eskom decided to get involved because of the project’s sustainability and the viability of improving the quality of life for rural communities. The project also holds social and environmental benefits. The fact that the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry supported it as well encouraged us to give funding.
‘The playpumps are an innovative way of introducing sustainable, inventive technology to draw water. And they play a critical role in the fight against cholera and other water-based diseases.”
Eskom has so far sponsored 40 playpump units, 15 of them in KwaZulu-Natal, 15 in Limpopo, five in the North West and five in the Free State. The company is also paying for the maintenance and upkeep of the pumps.
Roundabout Outdoor has been driving the initiative since 1993, when the first two playpumps were installed in the Masinga district of KwaZulu-Natal, with the cooperation of the local water authority, Umgeni Water.
The playpumps won an award in January 2000 in a World Bank competition aimed at assisting inventors of products that promote sustainable development. But Roundabout Outdoor has not always found it easy to raise funds to instal the playpumps, which cost R35 000 each. This is where Eskom’s assistance makes a difference.
The real value of the playpumps lies in making the provision of clean water no more than child’s play. Tapping the renewable energy of children, the pumps can generate more than 1 400 litres an hour.
The department estimates that 200 000 rural villagers have already benefited from the playpumps, which have a lifespan of about 20 years.
The concept was invented by Ronnie Styver, a drilling contractor, in the early 1990s. Roundabout Outdoor, an outdoor advertising company based in Johannesburg, entered into an agreement with Styver to obtain the exclusive rights to market the system locally and internationally. The marketing company subsequently decided to throw its weight behind a campaign to help rural people receive clean water and began installing the pumps all over the country.
‘The playpumps are installed at sites where there are large gatherings of children, such as school playgrounds, clinics and community centres,” says Diale.
Water is stored in overhead tanks, which are also used to carry advertising billboards. Half the advertising space is used to raise awareness about HIV/Aids and other social issues, while the other 50% is sold commercially to private advertisers.
‘This generates a regular flow of income for maintenance, making the system sustainable. The advertising also pays for the maintenance of the borehole equipment.”
The HIV/Aids awareness billboards usually target women and girls, who traditionally collect the water. Research has shown that rural women run the highest risk of HIV/Aids infection. The adverts, therefore, target the most vulnerable members of society.
loveLife is one of the critical partners in driving the messages on the billboards. It describes the playpump project as ‘very sustainable and innovative”.
The system is environmentally friendly because at night the borehole has time to replenish its water resources. Because the pumps work manually and not with electricity, they cannot accidentally be left on to pump the borehole dry or burn out the motor .
The partners in the project estimate the pumps, on average, supply water to between 2 500 and 3 000 people in every community in which they are installed, and that the advertising messages displayed on the storage tanks are read by about 5 000 people, including those passing through the area.
The government provides logistical assistance such as finding suitable locations, safe drinking water and getting approval from the local community. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry usually selects sites that are central for a number of communities.
Identified sites are in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo — five of the six provinces designated as ‘rural” by Statistics South Africa. These provinces together have a population of nearly 13-million people. Of these, 2,3-million households — or 78% — have no access to piped water. The playpumps have a lot of work to do.