Gauteng on the brink of ‘full-blown’ water crisis
As Gauteng grapples with a looming water supply emergency, all eyes are on how effectively municipalities in the country’s economic powerhouse will respond—or whether they will continue playing the blame game.
Professor Anthony Turton from the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of Free State has warned that the province is on the brink of a “full-blown Day Zero crisis.”
In an opinion piece for News24, he outlines the multifaceted causes of Gauteng’s water insecurity, primarily stemming from an imbalance between demand and supply.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) echoed this view, noting in its recently published Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng (PWSG) that there is a critical imbalance in supply and demand.
Key issues contributing to this include:
- Underinvestment in Municipal Infrastructure: Over the past decade, there has been insufficient investment, leading to a decline in services.
- Lack of Redundancy: The system is fragile, with little reserve supply capacity.
- Increasing Loadshedding, Theft, and Vandalism: These factors exacerbate the situation significantly.
- Excessive Municipal Water Losses: Both non-revenue and revenue water losses are alarmingly high.
- Population Growth: Rapid demand growth is driven by an increasing population.
- Overconsumption: Many individuals and businesses are using more water than necessary during this critical shortage.
Turton explained that the main driver on the demand side of the equation is the “general collapse of the water infrastructure in the various municipalities being supplied by Rand Water.”
“As an indicator of this, Johannesburg Water is losing around half of the water supplied to it by Rand Water, while Emfuleni is losing a staggering 72%.”
“With losses of this magnitude, it is impossible to keep the system pressurised, so irrespective of how much Rand Water supplies, the system remains unstable,” explained the water expert.
He uses the metaphor of a leaking bucket to illustrate the situation.
“Think of Rand Water as a hose and most Gauteng municipalities as leaking buckets. They will never be full, regardless of how much water is poured into them,” said Turton.
Professor Adesola Ilemobade from the Wits School of Civil and Environmental Engineering echoed this sentiment, recently telling BusinessTech that municipalities can certainly improve on leakage reduction, which leads to significant waste of this scarce resource.
He highlights that global water network leakage should be around 15%, but many municipalities are far exceeding this threshold.
Another major demand-side factor is the delay in Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Although the DWS has made progress in reviving this project, benefits will not materialise until 2028, leaving current supply capabilities unable to expand without disadvantaging existing lawful water users.
Turton warns that Rand Water cannot increase output due to DWS concerns that doing so would further destabilise the system.
Local governments have largely been saying that some residents’ non-payments of water provision have significantly constrained their ability to invest in infrastructure or efficiently pay water boards.
Recently, Parliament’s portfolio committee on Water and Sanitation has revealed that municipal debt owed to water boards now stands at R22.36 billion. The debt owed to water boards have had an average increase of 151% between 2019 and 2024.
Committee chairperson, Leon Basson, said that “the magnitude of this problem is devastating to the cash flow of water boards and negatively affects the entire water value chain.”
The DWS has set a target for a 10% reduction in demand to avert a Day Zero scenario, emphasising the need for immediate action.
A Call for Collaboration
Despite the dire circumstances, Turton believes that Day Zero can be avoided through collaboration among all stakeholders.
“It’s an entirely avoidable crisis,” he insists.
However, he critiques entities like Johannesburg Water for shifting the blame onto Rand Water, stating that “we need to call this out before it exacerbates the crisis because all that blame-shifting does is create a distraction without alleviating the problem.”
“How can the owner of the leaking bucket realistically blame the owner of the hose for not being able to keep the bucket full?” asked the water expert.
Municipalities bear the responsibility for managing water use within their jurisdictions.
Turton outlines several critical steps municipalities must take:
- Fix Leaks: Addressing leaks in the water network is crucial to restoring pressure and ensuring water security, although this will take time.
- Invest in Infrastructure: Municipalities should reinvest funds from rates and taxes into infrastructure upgrades instead of diverting these funds for other purposes. Engaging the private sector for financing can also help restore service delivery stability.
- Eliminate Illegal Connections: Tackling illegal connections is essential to balance supply and demand and prevent further destabilisation.
- Implement Phased Water Restrictions: Municipalities must responsibly introduce phased restrictions to manage demand while promoting sustainable water use.
- Promote Behavioral Change: Educate residents on the importance of reducing water consumption to foster a collective shift towards sustainable practices.
Turton stresses the need for unity across Gauteng’s water supply chain to prevent a total system failure.
“As long as that supply chain remains functional, the disaster of total system failure is entirely avoidable,” he asserts.
He warns that the only beneficiaries of such a collapse would be those exploiting the situation, such as the “water tanker mafia.”
He insists that Rand Water must prioritise municipalities compliant with water use licenses to protect the majority’s interests.
Additionally, Turton called for accountability among all stakeholders and urges the DWS to prosecute those responsible for delays in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, saying that “their crimes are against the people of Gauteng.”
Ilemobade emphasises the importance of balancing supply and demand management.
“With decreasing freshwater volumes and rapidly growing economies and populations, we cannot focus solely on supply management,” he says.
He advocates for an integrated strategy at all levels of government to reduce demand through various initiatives while increasing supply capacity.
They say crisis may be severe, but through responsible management and collaboration rather than blame shifting, Gauteng can work towards a sustainable water future.
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