A 28-year-old engineer from the Free State has designed a digital water monitoring system aimed at improving water safety and accountability in municipalities across the province.
Sello Daniel Selepe, from Thaba Nchu, developed the system while working with the Free State Provincial Government’s technical assistance program, which deployed 59 engineers to assist struggling municipalities.
An alumnus of the Central University of Technology, Selepe was posted to Nketoana Local Municipality where he created several digital tools to improve operational efficiency in water services.
Its flagship innovation, called ‘Guardian of Every Tap’, records, analyzes and identifies operational issues in real time. It monitors water quality from raw material intake to final distribution, ensuring only safe water reaches communities.
The system also supports accountability by requiring technicians to enter data directly, which is time-stamped and cannot be easily changed.
Selepe said municipal water tests were previously recorded manually in logbooks, which posed risks such as data loss and inconsistencies.
“With this system, our data has now been digitized and we can also determine water samples for you and inform you whether the water is safe enough to consume or not,” he said. “The system marks water samples according to South African water standards.”
He said the innovation was partly inspired by previous incidents of E. coli contamination, including in Hammanskraal, but also by wider concerns about water quality in municipalities such as Mantsopa.
Selepe said his goal was to use science in a practical way to improve living conditions and create solutions that would have a lasting impact on local governance.
Selepe grew up in Zone 1 in Thaba Nchu and grew up in modest circumstances. His early experiences walking long distances to fetch water shaped his career path.
A former student at Strydom Secondary School, he is among many young Free Staters who have benefited from government education support programs including NSFAS and provincial bursaries.
He is currently continuing his groundwater studies at the University of the Free State.
Selepe’s work is highlighted as part of a broader vision for a capable and professional public service driven by youth innovation in the Free State.
IOL
Se-Anne Rall
iol.co.za