![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Sipho-Mosai.jpg\")
<\/a>Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai<\/p><\/div>\n
However, the main contributor to the lack of water supply in Gauteng is residents’ modes of consumption – such as using water for non-drinking purposes like watering lawns.<\/p>\n
According to Rand Water, Joburg is one of the highest water consumers in the world, currently sitting at 300 litres per capita per day on average, while the world average is 173 litres.<\/p>\n
Mosai said that while this consumption was compounded by the heatwave experienced at the beginning of October – which increased water demand – the real issue is how the water is used.<\/p>\n
He explained that many residents in Gauteng use a lot of precious water to water their gardens, which often comprise invasive plant species that require a large amount of water.<\/p>\n
He said that 49% of the water that reaches the consumer goes into the garden<\/strong>, and this wasteful water usage and the overall high consumption rate are to blame for the water shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis high usage of water in the low-lying areas drops the water levels in the reservoirs and the pressure, meaning high-lying areas experience a water shortage. All municipalities in Gauteng have water, but it\u2019s the high-lying areas that don\u2019t have water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe [Rand Water] are simply supplying more water than is budgeted. Water demand is beyond the volumes we should be supplying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe as South Africans need to go suburb by suburb and understand where the consumption is and discourage the use of drinking water for non-drinking purposes, such as watering our lawns,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n One key issue Rand Water failed to address<\/strong><\/p>\n UNISA\u2019s integrated water resource management specialist, Anja Du Plessis, said that load-leading and the heatwave have indeed contributed to the water supply crisis and higher consumption rates \u2013 but it\u2019s unfair to put the blame solely on the consumer.<\/p>\n She said that ailing infrastructure and a lack of maintenance significantly contribute to Gauteng\u2019s water loss.<\/p>\n \u201cRand Water says that Gauteng is using 300 litres per person per day, but they fail to include the fact that 41% of that water is lost before it even gets to the consumer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She added that decaying infrastructure is a significant issue which hasn\u2019t been addressed for the past two decades. Warnings have been given by several researchers since 2002, saying that we need to give our water infrastructure the proper attention and move away from just putting down new pipes.<\/p>\n Du Plessis said that while putting down new pipes is suitable for rural areas in terms of water access, it doesn\u2019t help in the cities where we do not maintain what we already have.<\/p>\n
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