Water chaos in South Africa

South Africa’s economic hub, Gauteng, is facing widespread water outages, and the economy could soon collapse if Rand Water can not sort out the problem.

Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai said that the problem in Gauteng’s water supply is due to high consumption and climate change. In contrast, water scientist Anthony Turton noted that the main culprit of governance and poor infrastructure maintenance.

“Climate change is definitely something we should monitor in the background, but it is not a root cause of any water shortages. In fact, many dams are the fullest they’ve been for a long period of time,” said Turton.

“Ultimately, it all comes down to infrastructure and long-term planning. The recent implementation of water shifting clearly indicates that the system has failed.

However, using data from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Sunday Times reported that Ekhurhuleni is the only municipality in Gauteng that uses less than its average of 1,007 megalitres a day. On the other hand, supply in Johannesburg stands at 1,492 Ml/d compared to demand of 1,600 ml/d.

Turton admitted that industrial users are far more efficient in managing water supply.

“Ekurhuleni has a large industrial area. Industrial users of water tend to be more efficient because they are driven by economic factors. They are also bulk water users… Their water services are metered both ways,” Turton said.

In September, amidst the water supply issues in large parts of the provinces, Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu introduced water shifting – which is similar to load shedding – to ensure that areas were still able to access water.

However, this is only a short-term solution, and the department hopes that phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water project will be able to solve Gauteng’s water problems when it launches in 2028.

Water & sanitation director-general Sean Phillips said that the scheme will transfer water from Lesotho in the Vall River system and is a central cog of the department’s plans to increase water supplies to the growing population in Gauteng.

“The R40 billion phase 2 of the Lesotho project has been delayed by nine years.” It is now under construction but will only be completed by 2028. It will only be possible for Rand Water to increase its water abstraction from the Vaal River system after phase 2 comes online,” Phillips said.

Turton added that Gatueng’s three major metros – Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekuhuleni – need about R100 billion to recapitalise their water infrastructure, as roughly 50% of the water in these metros is nonrevenue water as it is lost through leaks.

Phillips said Rand Water had a R35 billion capital programme, which would add substantial treatment and storage capacity once phase 2 was complete.

“This also means the revenues needed to fund this new infrastructure cannot be generated internally. It’s an indicator that the systems have failed,” Turton noted.

“If Rand Water fails, we will be confronted with a catastrophic situation characterised by a collapse of the economy, widespread social unrest and a sustained flight of capital.”

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