Over the medium term, significant progress in dealing with service delivery has been made. The key to significant progress in this regard is the result of a successful partnership with the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, initiatives by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) and Water Boards in dealing with the challenges of service delivery in those areas which have experienced service delivery protests. Support was provided through the Department's Rapid Response Unit (RRU) which is a unit made up of professionals in the water sector who attend to problems when they arise and arrange quick fixes that may relate to water treatment or infrastructure failures. The RRU was decentralised to all provinces and is fully functional in seven Provinces. There were 173 technical interventions during the period under review.