Valuing water gains in the Eastern Cape's Working for Water Programme

Abstract

Water is one of the most important measured benefits of the Working for Water Programme (WWP). This programme entails the removal of high water-consuming alien vegetation and the restoration of low water-consuming indigenous vegetation. For this reason it is crucial that the pricing of this water be an accurate reflection of its relative scarcity. This paper sheds more light on this aspect. A procedure for pricing water is described and applied in six WWP projects in the Eastern Cape province: Tsitsikamma, Kouga, Port Elizabeth Driftsands, Albany, Balfour and Pott River. It is shown that the procedure yields very different prices at the different sites, and higher prices for projects that increase river flows feeding metropolitan demand.