Joburg’s R1 billion plan to fix its water crisis – here are some of the projects already in place
The City of Johannesburg has set aside R930 million in 2022 to repair water infrastructure and provide uninterrupted supply. On Monday (31 October), Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse said that the city has begun repairing decaying infrastructure, with several projects already in place.
In an interview with Newsroom Afrika, Johannesburg MMC for environment and infrastructure services, Michael Sun, highlighted some of the vital capital projects Joburg Water is putting into the ground as part of the R930 million allocation, which includes:
- A R93 million pipe replacement programme;
- R127 million allocated to repairing leaks;
- R30 million was allocated to a new Crosby pump station;
- R240 million allocated to repairs at the Brixton reservoir and pump station.
Phalatse said that this money allocated for water infrastructure will help address the water crisis in the city – adding that Joburg Water has already replaced over 100 kilometres of pipes, and there is still a long way to go to turn Johannesburg around.
Another project included in the budget was a new 15-megalitre water reservoir launched for Lenasia and surrounding communities to improve the storage capacity of the Lenasia high-level reservoir. The R45 million project, which started in August 2020, launched in July 2022.
Sun noted that while Joburg residents have called for something to be done about the water crisis, many of these projects are underground and tucked away, so residents may not see what’s being done.
Nevertheless, he reiterated that things are being done and that Joburg Water will complete these projects within six to 24 months.
He also reminded residents that, despite these developments, Joburg Water is still a distribution business that buys bulk water from Rand Water – so if bulk water can’t be supplied by Rand water, for whatever reason, some areas in the city may still face water shortages in the short term.
“We need to work closely with Rand Water to ensure that we have a good working system so that we get a reliable supply of water which will then be distributed uninterruptedly to residents,” he said.
Working closely with Rand Water seems to be an essential aspect of Gauteng’s water security. Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai recently pointed to wasteful residential consumption as the main culprit of the water shortage – failing to include the fact that 41% of that water is lost before it even gets to the consumer due to the ailing infrastructure.
Amid these developments, Water utility Rand Water lifted water restrictions in Gauteng on Wednesday (2 November) following a stabilisation in reservoir levels – effective immediately.
The reservoirs have reached 60%, up from the 30% that sparked the restrictions. This is partly due to good rains and collaboration between Rand Water and the three main metros.
“In consultation with the metros, a philosophy has been agreed to which will ensure that best water management practices are left in place to ensure that systems are kept stable throughout the coming hot months,” said Rand Water in a media statement.
This is good news for Joburg residents as high levels of consumption brought on by high temperatures, compounded by load shedding’s knock-on effects on water infrastructure, led to Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekuhuleni experiencing dry taps for weeks, with numerous areas hit with intermitted supply.
“The water crisis results from long-term neglect of Johannesburg’s water infrastructure, and we are putting these millions into fixing this. Joburg Water is committed to fixing the issues on our end so that Joburg residents don’t have to experience a crisis like this again,” said Sun.
Read: Another headache for consumers in South Africa this month – but there is a silver lining
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