Joburg disaster: Collapsing water infrastructure in pictures
South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg, is approaching a crisis that will affect every household and business in the city – the collapse of its water infrastructure, and a “day zero” for when the taps run dry.
Home to more than 6 million residents, Joburg is the heart of South Africa’s economic activities—the location for the headquarters of various multinational corporations, key financial institutions, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
For businesses and investors, a clean, reliable, and consistent water supply where they operate is crucial—but years of neglect and a severe lack of maintenance make this an incredibly dim prospect for the city.
While the city has faced water challenges for some time, Rand Water recently provided a harsh reality check, warning that its system could be on the verge of collapse if water consumption was not drastically reduced across Gauteng.
“Water storage levels throughout Gauteng Province have significantly declined due to excessive water withdrawals by municipalities, raising serious concerns,” said Rand Water.
“Rand Water is left with no option but take steps to protect its system from total collapse,” it added.
While there have been many reasons for this—such as rapid population growth and overconsumption—experts say that the biggest culprits are unmaintained and underinvestment in municipal infrastructure, vandalism, and illegal water connections.
“Infrastructure theft and vandalism are two of the most prominent and ongoing challenges that Johannesburg Water experiences, which results in substantial losses in terms of service delivery and financial targets and, consequently, the City’s revenue,” Joburg Water told BusinessTech.
In a piece for News24, Professor Anthony Turton from the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of Free State outlined that there is a critical imbalance in supply and demand.
He explained that one main driver is the “general collapse of the water infrastructure in the various municipalities being supplied by Rand Water.”
This is particularly problematic in Johannesburg.
Non-revenue water (NRW) is the volume of water that is pumped but for which the municipality receives no income. The target for municipalities in South Africa is less than 25% but the actual NRW is much higher – currently ~46% in Johannesburg.
Additionally, real or physical water losses (runs to waste) are around 20% over the ideal target.
“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,” said Turton.
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.
In its most recent annual report, Joburg Water said that material water losses amounted to ~ R2.4 billion (up R300 million from the previous year).
Looking at the outlined risks identified by Joburg Water does not paint a pretty picture:
Joburg Water’s July 2024 turnaround strategy highlights significant challenges in delivering quality water and sanitation services, primarily due to underfunding and inadequate investment in capital projects.
Over 15 years, water pipe bursts increased by 30%, and water reserve capacity fell by 28%, making the system more vulnerable to disruptions.
Cash collection dropped from 86% in the early 2010s to 75% in 2022, and capital expenditure from service charges decreased from 18% to 7%.
Further explanations of this can be found in this Daily Maverick article.
Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, leader of the DA Joburg caucus, criticized the city’s inadequate budget for water infrastructure, noting that Joburg Water requested R3 billion last year but only received R1.22 billion—a 13.9% increase that fails to address a R20 billion backlog.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku pointed to a lack of qualified personnel, especially in management, as a major issue impacting timely leak repairs.
The turnaround strategy states that Johannesburg Water needs enhanced management and technical capabilities and may consider external assistance to address these challenges and improve revenue.
Regardless of the debate of the effectiveness of the amount, Joburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said that “the allocated budget will focus on programmes geared towards water pipe replacement, upgrades and improvements to existing infrastructure, as well building new storage infrastructure in the form of reservoirs, as well as repairs and maintenance.”
Currently, the construction of a new Brixton Reservoir, Tower, and Pumpstation is in progress.
In early October, Joburg Water said that it has identified leaks in 42 reservoirs and plans to repair 20 of them. The repairs are “at various stages” and are due to continue “over the next few years.”
Dr Ferrial Adam, Executive Manager for WaterCAN, an OUTA initiative, expressed frustration at the delays.
“It’s infuriating that Joburg Water is only now disclosing the extent of the leaks in the reservoirs, but we are relieved they are starting to provide information,” he said.
The City’s 2024/25 capital expenditure budget allocates about R290 million for work on 17 reservoirs and towers.
Joburg Water said it plans to retrofit smart-flow controllers on the outlets of 28 high-consumption reservoirs and towers to help stabilise water levels, and roll out smart meters to homes to better manage water consumption.
The plan, spanning 2021-2026, includes an initial R30 million investment as part of a larger R330 million project.
Adam said that detailed information is needed on necessary repairs, their urgency, timelines, and costs, “especially since the City claims it lacks funds for water infrastructure.”
The DWS gave Gauteng municipalities four projects which it said could and should be undertaken immediately to mitigate a water collapse:
- With immediate effect, leaks must be fixed.
- Illegal connections must be disconnected.
- People must be billed correctly.
- The focus must be on pumping enough water to reservoirs for the usage needed (for example, some reservoirs do not need to be filled to supply the area adequately, so the water can be shifted to another area that needs it).
“The situation in Gauteng is self-inflicted… it can change if there is political will,” said Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina,
“We warned the province several times – we could not watch this issue continue; we had to rescue them (by suggesting these implementations). If they manage to do what we told them, they’ll be okay,” she added.
Joburg Water said that these suggestions are all part of their Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WCWDM) Programme, which aims to reduce losses and decrease system input volume.
The City of Johannesburg has implemented level 1 water restrictions which limits when and how residents use water.
“These restrictions are important but people’s anger and frustration over days of no water, increasing leaks and untenable water bills could result in people ignoring government restrictions,” said Adam.
However, she noted that “we all have a role to play.”
People should use water sparingly, report all leaks until fixed, and report any misuse. Overcoming this crisis requires transparency from all levels of government.
“We cannot stress it more: we really need improved, open, and transparent communication about the state of our water infrastructure and the quality of our drinking water, warts and all,” added Adam.
Read: The most complained-about hospitals in South Africa – with Gauteng in trouble
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