Integrated energy and waste water solutions to solve small town municipal service delivery problems in South Africa

Abstract

Providing municipal services such as electricity and waste water treatment is a major challenge for small towns that often lack the institutional capacity to manage and maintain the necessary infrastructure. High levels of poverty in these towns also present cost-recovery challenges. This paper presents a project spearheaded by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa to assist rural municipalities through applying an industrial ecology approach to develop alternate models of sustainable and integrated municipal service delivery that could be operated as a viable business concern by an independent contractor.