South Africa is facing the prospect of a breakdown in the water supply to its industrial heartland and most-populated region, adding to the woes of an economy battered by power outages, congested ports and a broken freight rail system.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rand Water Services Ltd., Africa\u2019s biggest bulk-water supplier, on March 16 told three municipalities in the central Gauteng province \u2014 Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, which have a combined population of more than 13 million people \u2014 that its system was on the verge of collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The warning comes after a large swath of Johannesburg, South Africa\u2019s largest city, was left without water for as long as 11 days, with some areas still without supply after lightning hit a pump station. That station was struck again on Monday night, knocking out power for a few hours and affecting eight water towers and reservoirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRand Water systems are under severe pressure,\u201d the City of Tshwane, which includes the capital Pretoria, \u00a0said in a statement. \u201cThe entire water supply system, which we share, is under strain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like South Africa\u2019s power plants and transport networks, the country\u2019s water supply systems have deteriorated because of inadequate maintenance, a lack of planning for population growth, mismanagement, corruption and political infighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johannesburg Water Management Ltd., which distributes water in the city, loses 44% of the volume supplied to it to leaks and theft.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe more that Rand Water pumps into this leaking sieve, the more they are depleting their reservoirs,\u201d said Anthony Turton, a professor at the Centre for Environmental Management at South Africa\u2019s University of the Free State. \u201cThe system is now starting to self-destruct.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rand Water\u2019s reservoirs have drained to about 30% full since the end of December, from more than 70%. Usage by the three main metropolitan areas has surged to about 3.4 billion litres a day, its highest in at least six months, with a prolonged spell of hot weather driving up volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In total, the utility can supply more than 4.6 billion litres daily \u2014 it also serves a number of smaller municipalities as well as users in three other provinces \u2014 covering an area of more than 18,000 square kilometres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMunicipalities consume more water than the agreed amount allocated to them,\u201d it said in a response to queries. \u201cRand Water convened a meeting over the weekend to discuss, amongst other things, consumption in the three metros.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johannesburg Water uses its budget as \u201cefficiently and effectively as possible\u201d and is working to cut water usage, Nombuso Shabalala, the company\u2019s spokeswoman, said in a response to queries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The city\u2019s power utility and Rand Water were to blame for the recent outages, she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interruptions to water supply to mines and factories are threatening economic activity, Busi Mavuso, the chief executive officer of lobby group Business Leadership South Africa, said in a March 10\u00a0column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe understand the challenges that both entities are facing,\u201d Kabelo Gwamanda, Johannesburg\u2019s mayor, told 702 Talk Radio in an\u00a0interview\u00a0in which he dismissed criticism of the city\u2019s struggle to supply sufficient water. \u201cIt has always been an issue of overconsumption.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n With national elections just over two months away, the water shortage has become a political crisis, with officials and utilities shifting blame over an issue that has angered voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gwamanda is Johannesburg\u2019s seventh mayor since Dec. 2019, his appointment emblematic of the infighting and constantly changing coalitions that critics say have crippled management of the city. He is a member of the Al Jama-ah party that holds 3 of the 270 seats in the city council, and was appointed because larger parties couldn\u2019t agree on an alternate candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are really serious management capacity problems,\u201d said Mike Muller, a water consultant and former director-general of South Africa\u2019s Department of Water and Sanitation. \u201cIt\u2019s not a supply crisis. There is real weakness in the municipalities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A systems update issued by Johannesburg Water on Monday listed a number of \u201ccritically low\u201d reservoirs and areas with little or no supply. In a statement earlier this month, Rand Water said it\u2019s owed more than R3 billion ($158 million) by municipalities that haven\u2019t paid their bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere has been 10 years of neglect, not putting the funding in place required for maintenance,\u201d said Ferrial Adam, manager of the water program at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, a nonprofit group focused on exposing corruption.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repairs to a pipe that burst and cut off supply to several suburbs in northern Johannesburg earlier this month were first delayed by a shortage of welders and then by a lack of diesel they needed to run their equipment, according to a local city councillor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gwamanda has also faced criticism after it emerged that an inexplicably closed valve prevented water from flowing into parts of the city from Rand Water, delaying the restoration of services.\u201cThe system is now at breaking point,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n