"Most Progressive Water Utility in Africa" Wins 2014 Stockholm Industry Water Award

DAKAR, Senegal and STOCKHOLM, May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

eThekwini Water & Sanitation, a part of Durban Municipality in South Africa, is named the 2014 winner of the Stockholm Industry Water Award, for its transformative and inclusive approach to providing water and sanitation services.  

"This recognition reflects the work of our whole team over the past 22 years and is a tremendous honour for all of us here in Durban," says Neil Macleod, head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation.

South Africa's constitution from 1996, praised as a model for inclusion of social rights, enshrined the human right to water. Local government was tasked with putting it into practice. Soon after, Durban, one of the country's main urban centres, expanded its administrative boundaries to include 3.5 million people, some of them living in poorly serviced rural areas with huge water and sanitation challenges. The eThekwini municipality decided to face these challenges head-on.

In the past 14 years, 1.3 million additional people in greater Durban have been connected to piped water and 700,000 people have been provided with access to toilets. Access to basic water supply and sanitation is provided for free to poor families, while higher levels of service and consumption are charged at full cost.

eThekwini Water and Sanitation stand at the forefront of exploring social and technical solutions, one example being mini-turbines installed in pipes running down steep hillsides, utilising excess pressure to generate electricity for the city's low tension grid.

The result is one of the most progressive water and sanitation utilities in the world.

"eThekwini has championed the approach to provide sufficient water to sustain human life, as expressed in the South African constitution, now embedded in national policy. The methods used and results achieved by eThekwini Water and Sanitation serve as a sterling example for the many communities worldwide facing similar challenges," states the Stockholm Industry Water Award (SIWA) jury in its citation.

eThekwini Water and Sanitation will receive the Stockholm Industry Water Award at a ceremony on September 2, during World Water Week in Stockholm. The award, presented annually by Stockholm International Water Institute, honours the business sector's contribution to sustainable water management.

For full press release, photos and video: http://www.siwi.org/siwa2014