Customer Service Reform for Water and Sanitation Service Providers: The Cape Town Experience

In the last decade, the City of Cape Town faced an unprecedented drought, culminating in 2018, when reservoirs fell to threateningly low levels that sparked predictions of “Day Zero”—the day when Cape Town would have to begin rationing water. In response to the customer problems and loss of revenue highlighted during the drought, Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Department undertook a Customer Service Turnaround Project (CS-TAP) that sought to improve its customer relationship management (CRM) systems and operations including metering, billing, collections, debt management, and customer care.

This case study illustrates the lessons learned from the City of Cape Town’s post water-crisis reform experiences. The City undertook important measures to improve its water and sanitation department’s CRM systems, with assistance from USAID.