Gauteng municipalities to devise concrete plans aimed at addressing the current and future water challenges
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr Senzo Mchunu, convened a meeting last night, with Rand Water and Mayors of the various municipalities in the Gauteng province. The purpose of the meeting was to amongst others, engage the municipalities on their water conservation and demand management plans, the current state of their water and sanitation infrastructure and plans to maintain same, as well as plans to resolve the current challenges, which have been exacerbated by the violent storm which swept across some parts of the province on Tuesday, 19 September 2023.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Ms Thembi Nkadimeng, the Deputy Ministers of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Mr David Mahlobo and Ms Judith Tshabalala, as well as Mr Parks Tau, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
In his opening remarks, Minister Mchunu referred to previous meetings held with the municipalities, and the plans they had committed to, to address the shortfalls within their respective areas of service. This was then followed by a detailed technical feedback report by the Deputy Director-General: Water and Sanitation Services Management, Mr Risimati Mathye, on, amongst others, the recent water shortages in the Gauteng province, particularly relating to the three Metros namely, City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and attributed these to the growing population in the province, stating the following: "Rapid population growth in Gauteng, coupled with increasing water losses in municipal water distribution systems in Gauteng have resulted in a situation where the peak demand for water from Rand Water's municipal customers is close to, and occasionally exceeds, the available supply". Load-shedding as well as lack of proactive Operations and Maintenance and infrastructure capital investment by municipalities were also cited as contributing to the challenges.
Rand Water confirmed the report by Mr Mathye and stated that it was, "chasing the demand caused by the ever-growing consumption". Rand Water advised that it engages, on a continuous basis, with the Metros on measures which can be implemented to reduce the high consumption rate. The powerlines of Rand Water's Zuikerbosch Purification System, one of Rand Water's primary systems, were affected by a severe thunderstorm on Tuesday night, resulting in a loss of about 2 million litres of water per day.
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In response to what had been presented, the City of Joburg outlined what it plans to do to address amongst others, pressure, and reservoir management. The City of Tshwane stated that its non-revenue water statistics had improved over the years, as measures had been put in place to reduce such losses. The City of Ekurhuleni stated that it had turned its focus on correcting metering and billing, but also lamented about the repetitive vandalism of infrastructure.
Both Ministries maintained that there were no concrete plans by the municipalities on how the persisting challenges would be resolved to bring stability to the system. There was also consensus that the municipalities required support and to that end, Minister Mchunu directed that Rand Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation, meet, within the coming week, with technical officials from all the municipalities to devise a plan which would then be presented to the two Ministries. It was further agreed that upon receipt of that plan, the public would be briefed.
