A new smart water meter device is saving schools in the Western Cape thousands of rands.
Water consumption at the schools has also dropped significantly due to the gadget.
Water is a scarce commodity in the drought-stricken Western Cape, but a new smart water meter, called Count Dropula, installed to help save water especially at schools, is paying off.
Hector Peterson Secondary School in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, has saved up to R50 000 per month thanks to the device.
Principal, Mike Mavovana, says more money for other learning programmes at the school is now available:
“We have just introduced the smart class rooms which is about 16 of the class rooms in our school where we’ve got e-learning, that’s integrating teaching and learning using technology and with this kind of saving that we have per month you can imagine what per annum that can be and how that can actually add value into our e-learning programme into the school, because we’ll be able to utilise the money into the e-learning where we’ll be able to give access to each and every learner in the school.”
The school has also managed to save up to 40 000 Kilolitres of water daily since the installation of the device.
University of Stellenbosch Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering, Thinus Booysen, says the Count Dropula can be monitored online.
“Count Dropula attaches to an existing municipal meter and then it counts the number of pulses which relates to the water that flows it reports this into an online web service and then the users can access this data from www.schoolswater.co.za <http://www.schoolswater.co.za> so anybody can see all the schools consumption which then allows the schools to manage better their consumption and to be more aware of their use of water.”
Local retailer sponsored the installation of the device at 100 schools in the province is challenging other companies to do the same.
Assistant Manager, Lunga Schoeman:
“As a business with heart we did ask ourselves what can we best do to ensure that we extend day zero and were pleasantly surprised by what we achieved with the Dropula at this particular high school and we invite other corporates as well to find their nearest schools and to invest in this dropula and to ensure that we save water in the Western Cape.”
The Western Cape Department of Education has promised to sponsor 40% of the device’s costs at a further 170 schools, if corporates can sponsor the other 60%, the amount of water saved by the schools which use the device is expected make a great contribution towards assisting with the dire water crisis in the province.
