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Water Services Trust Fund
Development of Prepaid Water Kiosks
1.
Prepaid Water Kiosks: Disadvantages & Opportunities
Contexts Favourable for the Introduction of Prepaid Water Kiosks
The following situations could be considered favourable for the introduction and operation of
prepaid water kiosks:
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Areas where kiosks are not sustainable:
o Kiosk Operators are not paying their monthly water bills (low collection efficiencies).
o Due to the low number of clients and/or low daily per capita consumption levels1
average monthly Kiosk Operator incomes are low and Operators, therefore, are not
motivated to keep their kiosk open and/or provide a good service to their
customers.
Low income urban areas where access to land, even for a relatively small structure such as a
kiosk is difficult to obtain (a prepaid kiosk occupies a smaller surface as compared to a
normal closed insitu kiosk).
Areas where levels of vandalism are low.
Areas where residents (day and night populations) fetch water during late evenings (after
20:00hrs) and very early mornings (before 06:00hrs).
The population of the areas accepts the technology and is prepared to prepay for water.
Areas where high levels of water wastage were common (before the introduction of the
prepaid kiosks).
Companies which employ Meter Readers who do not offer a reliable service.
Potential Disadvantages of Prepaid Meters (Including Prepaid Kiosks)
The following potential disadvantages of prepaid systems have to be considered during the design
phase as well as during project implementation:
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Hygienic situation – Since the prepaid kiosk does not require the presence of an operator, it
risks being neglected. This means that the Water Service Provider (WSP) has to put a
maintenance system in place which ensures that the prepaid kiosk are maintained and kept
clean. The emphasis on the need to keep prepaid kiosk clean should be part of the training
programme.
In low income urban areas characterised by high levels of vandalism and low levels of social
control, prepaid kiosks, if not well protected, risk being vandalised. Theft will target valuable
parts of the kiosk (metal panels, pipes, brass parts, meters, etc. etc.
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A kiosk with 3 outlets and sufficient water pressure can adequately supply 1,200 residents provided average
daily per capita consumption does not exceed 22 litres. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) and the
Regulator (WASREB) are in the process of developing, in collaboration with the WSTF, a national definition of
water supply & sanitation coverage which should be based on a clear definition of adequate supply.
WSTF/UPC
Prepaid Meters/Text for Grundfos
August 2010
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2.
If the supplier of prepaid kiosks is unable or unwilling to provide the necessary spare parts
and technical support, prepaid water kiosks will turn out to be unsustainable.
High investment and operation costs may prevent WSPs to invest in prepaid meters.
Customer care. The advantage of water kiosks which are operated by Operators is that these
Operators can provide assistance to their customers (e.g. assisting elderly women with the
lifting of full containers). The lack of a personal service can to some extent be overcome by
giving sufficient attention to the user-friendliness of the prepaid kiosk (i.e. ergonomic
aspects). There should be sufficient space to place empty 20-litre containers and the
fetching bay should at least have an elevation of at least 45 centimetres!! (Also to prevent
contamination). Moreover sufficient attention has to be given to proper drainage (e.g. drain
groves constructed in front of the fetching bay) and landscaping.
It may be difficult to introduce prepaid kiosk in some areas due to political opposition (why
should the poor pre-pay their water whereas other customers are giving the opportunity to
post-pay. This constraints can be addressed by:
o Ensuring that customers have easy access (i.e. within the area) to recharging
facilities).
o That customers can recharge their keys/tokens with small amounts (preferably with
amounts as low as KS25, or even less).
o That customer can even fetch water using an emergency credit (Safaricom has a
similar provision).
Minimum Requirements
A prepaid water kiosk (PWK) should meet the following minimum requirements:
Features
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It should be possible to integrate the kiosk (box) into a public sanitation facility (drawings of
the WSTF public sanitation facility can be obtained at request).
The PWK should occupy a small surface (an advantage of traditional insitu kiosks).
Durability
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The facility, including the external parts should be robust and long lasting.
The facility, including the external parts (solar panel, water outlets, water tank, etc.) should
be vandalism proof.
Hygiene and user-friendliness
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It should be possible to keep the facility clean and as dry as possible.
The PWK should be user-friendly and its design should take ergonomic considerations into
account (e.g. how to make lifting a full 20-litre jerrycan as easy as possible).
Although water wastage is expected to be low, the facility should have proper drainage and
landscaping.
The PWKS should have a feature to put up and protect laminated posters (A4 and A3). This
feature could be integrated in the protective shell (“cover”) of the actual (metal) PWK. and
to the current regulated tariff.
WSTF/UPC
Prepaid Meters/Text for Grundfos
August 2010
3
Maintenance and Repair
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It should be possible to train one or more local residents and make them responsible for the
day-to-day operation and maintenance of a number of prepaid water kiosks.
The pieces of hosepipe attached to the water outlets (based upon the demonstration PWK)
should be durable and the WSP should be provided with a sufficient stock as the quality and
size (diameter) are probably not available on the local market.
In order to prevent the PWK from getting damaged by containers, (etc.) the fetching bay
should be equipped with a rubber strip (just below the Grundfos sign/logo).
Operation of the Facility
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The PWK should be able to cope with erratic supply water rationing programmes. In other
words, irregular supply should not affect the operations of the PWK (including meter
readings, etc.) the
Poor water quality (turbidity) should not affect the operation of the PWK.
Fetching Water
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Questions for Grundfos
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4.
If water is being supplied to the area, customers should have 24hrs access to water,
provided they have a charged key.
The prepaid system should be reliable. Customer confidence is key!
The water keys, tokens should be available, affordable and durable.
It should be possible to recharge keys within the area. Recharging should be easy and
customers should have confidence in the system.
Customers should be able to recharge their key with small amounts (KSh 25 or even less).
Is should be able to fill a 20-litre jerrycan (which contains 21-22.5 litres as customers prefer
to fill their without wasting much water.
The facility should be accessible. This means that if the PWK is equipped with 2 or 3 water
outlets 2-3 customers should be able to fetch water at the same time.
Integration in the billing system.
Does the prepaid water kiosk need to be equipped with a water storage tank?
Does a simple PWK need to be powered by a (large) solar panel? (The Elster-Kent prepaid
system is powered by a small battery which lasts 3 years).
Can information regarding the kiosk not be collected with a special key which is only used by
the WSP? (The Elster-Kent prepaid system has this provision).
Can I fetch water at all PWK, provided my key is charged?
General observations
Adopting a Modular Approach
The proposed PWK that can be constructed within the framework of a WSTF-funded pilot project
should be a simple one. Additional features (modules) can be developed / added to the basic model.
In order to improve access and security during the evening hours, the provision of LED lighting (see
websites of Philips and Osram) should be considered.
WSTF/UPC
Prepaid Meters/Text for Grundfos
August 2010
4
Additional features (modules):
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Paying/recharging using Safaricom’s Mpesa and developed by Grundfos.
Monitoring of the PWKs performance and operation using computer hardware and software
(as developed by Grundfos).
Onsite UV treatment of water (a solution of borehole fed kiosks but not advisable in urban
settings where the emphasis should be on provided good quality water through central
treatment and supply through sealed distribution networks).
Development of Prepaid and Affordable Yard Taps
In many low income urban areas families (5- 15) live together on plots where they share facilities
such as toilets and yard taps (sometimes even DSTV). The technical quality and hygienic of many
yard taps is poor. In many towns disconnection rates are high as landlords and tenants are unable to
manage their yard tap. When the water bill arrives it is often higher than expected because
individual household lack the incentive to restrict their consumption and to prevent water wastage.
Sometimes the bill is high due to the fact that outsiders (in case yards are easily accessible) are
allowed, or somehow manage, to fetch water. Often landlords find it difficult to share the bill among
households of different sizes. Sometimes only part of the bill is paid as some families are defaulting.
Prepaid yard taps (PYT) could be a solution to these (management) problems, provided they are
affordable (up to 250 euro). The Ester –Kent system uses yard keys (they have a different colour)
which can only be used at a specific yard tap. Keys for PWK can be used at all PWKs.
5.
The competition
The Elster-Kent system provides the WSP with tokens/keys which can be used by the water company
to read/record information on consumption patterns. This information can be read by the computer.
In other words, the Elster-Kent system is not directly linked to the WSP information system.
Prepared by Han Seur and Edward Kungu.
WSTF/UPC
Prepaid Meters/Text for Grundfos
August 2010