Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa’s economic hub, Gauteng, is heading for a serious disaster as its ageing water infrastructure, increased demand, and delays to the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands project will lead to significant shortages.
These challenges have combined to pose a major risk to Gauteng’s water supply and distribution network, with sporadic water shortages being the first symptom of the underlying crisis.
The province has failed over the past 30 years to invest adequately in maintaining its water infrastructure and upgrading its network to meet growing demand from a rising population.
Department of Water director-general Dr Sean Phillips explained to Investec that demand has increased and investment in the network has failed to keep up.
“There have been various causes of the increase in demand. The one cause is that there has been an exponential increase in the population in Gauteng, due to migration within South Africa and from outside of the country,” Phillips said.
However, he said this does not tell the full story, as there has also been a surge in demand due to an increasing amount of water being wasted and lost due to collapsing infrastructure.
“There has been another cause of demand. That demand is the total demand, which includes water that is lost in the distribution system, and there has been a deterioration in the distribution systems in Gauteng,” Phillips said.
“So, the average loss in Gauteng is around 35% of the water that is supplied by Rand Water. That water is lost in the distribution system. I know that is the figure for Joburg, it is probably that on average for Gauteng.”
This means that, in Gauteng, about a third of the water supplied to the province by Rand Water is lost before it reaches the end user due to leakages or illegal connections.
Crucially, this water is also non-revenue water for the province, meaning that the municipalities do not collect any money for the 35% lost before reaching the end user.
This exacerbates the municipalities’ financial challenges, as they are collecting inadequate revenue to invest sufficiently in the network.
While much of this “lost water” is not seen by residents, it is felt by them. These leaks and deteriorating infrastructure result in routine maintenance leading to water shortages.
The collapsing infrastructure also means the system cannot recover as quickly as it needs to when supply is disrupted, resulting in outages such as the recent Midrand shortage, which lasted six days.
As a result, the national Department of Water has called for a 40% reduction in water use from Gauteng’s residents to stave off further shortages and limit the pressure on infrastructure.
Phillips explained that the government is quite limited in what it can do, with much of the responsibility lying at the municipal level.
Gauteng will run out of water
Director-general of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Dr Sean Phillips
These shortages are currently being dealt with in the short term by quick fixes and infrastructure maintenance at a local level.
However, Gauteng faces a fundamental problem – it has no easy access to substantial water sources within its borders or nearby.
This means the province is always on the edge of running out, relying on water pumped from the Vaal River System and, more fundamentally, Lesotho.
Currently, the vast majority of the water used in Gauteng is sourced from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, with Phase One completed in 2004.
Phase Two was set to be developed from 2008 onwards and would meet Gauteng’s water demand for decades to come at a cost of R7.3 billion.
The government initially planned for the project to deliver water to the Vaal River System by January 2020. However, the project is running nine years late and is only expected to be completed by 2028.
“We are currently halfway through building the second phase of Lesotho Highlands. It is about 50% complete,” Phillips said.
While this might solve Gauteng’s water challenges in the long run, parts of the province are suffering now and will continue to do so.
“Rand Water is not allowed to abstract more than it is currently from the system. What is happening now is that the demand is occasionally exceeding the available supply,” Phillips said.
“So, what is important in the interim and even in the long term is to reduce water consumption in Gauteng. Because even when the Lesotho Highlands is finished, it is not going to result in that much of an increase in abstraction.”
Phillips said once the second phase is completed, the government will probably have to start another huge infrastructure project to meet Gauteng’s future demand.
“Probably the next one will be to pump water all the way up 600 kilometres from the Thukela catchment in Kwa-Zulu Natal, which is going to be very expensive. And of course, the residents of Gauteng will have to pay for it,” Phillips said.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
