Gauteng consumers and municipalities should use water as though Day Zero is upon us, and get used to that as a way of life.
Credit: OUTA
The recent Rand Water announcement about the constraints in Gauteng’s water supply systems has not successfully raised awareness among residents about the urgent need to reduce water usage. Instead, it has caused anxiety and concern.
The statement declared that “water storage could soon be depleted if municipalities do not implement our recommendations. It is essential to act now to prevent the impending disaster. Rand Water emphasises that it is operating at full capacity and cannot pump additional water into the system.” The anxiety resulted from the statement was made worse as it coincided with many suburbs in Johannesburg being left without water.
There is nothing wrong with Rand Water’s statement, in fact it is very similar to statements issued by the department of Water and Sanitation in 2022. Our water systems are strained, and Rand Water has been exceeding its abstraction limit for several years. In addition, as we move into the summer months, it is commonplace that there are advisories and restrictions put in place to reduce water use. The difference this year is that the slow maintenance on a failing infrastructure is exacerbating the situation.
Our water woes are not the result of just one sector or government entity – it lies with all of them.
A problem a decade in the making
The water woes that we are experiencing have been more than ten years in the making and can be traced back to the years of state capture, poor leadership at all levels of government, dysfunctional municipalities and a complete neglect of infrastructure maintenance. At a national government level for example this has resulted in a 10-year delay in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 and significant setbacks in water management and supply.
Rand Water holds a licence to abstract 1347 million cubic meters per annum from the Integrated Vaal River System to supply five provinces – including Gauteng. It is over-abstracting at the moment with 1680 Mm3 per annum being drawn out. Clearly there is a problem with the efficiency and reliability of these systems that seem to be compromised and has resulted in significant challenges in meeting the water demands of the region.
Rand Water is operating at full capacity and cannot pump additional water into the system. This situation has been made worse by the delay in the LHWP.
However, the real challenge comes when the water is handed over to the municipalities. In what has become an annual appeal to municipalities, Rand Water has urged Gauteng municipalities to reduce the physical losses of 33% identified in the No Drop Report, repair leaks, enforce by-laws, and address illegal connections.
The No Drop Report assesses how much clean drinking water is being lost through leaks, theft and non-billable water in municipalities. The report released in 2023 shows an alarming amount of water being lost nationally –
In Gauteng, the City of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane are together losing about 33% of the water they have paid to treat to drinkable standard. It is very concerning that 42 of the 87 reservoirs in the City of Johannesburg are leaking and the water entity only has a budget to fix 14km of the 12000km network of water pipes a year. At this rate, the infrastructure woes that we are experiencing are not going to be going away any time soon.
Even if the phase 2 of the LHWP comes online in 2028, if we do not deal with the infrastructure woes then leaks, burst pipes, intermittent supplies are going to be the norm. It is no wonder that people have been using “Day Zero” to describe the situation.
The combination of the constraints facing Rand Water, the infrastructure woes at a city level, concerns about the maintenance shutdown of the LHWP, and the recent article by Prof Francois Engelbrecht, professor of climatology at Wits University have all resulted in people fearing a day zero as something that is going to happen this week. (Well for the community in Westbury/Mayfair/Brixton, it does feel like they are going for days without water.)
A “Day Zero” is defined as the “the critical point at which a city’s water supply is predicted to be nearly completely depleted, leaving taps dry and communities in crisis”. This definition fits the Day Zero we saw in cape Town when there was just no water in the system as dams and rivers had dried out because of the drought. However, in Gauteng, we have water in our Integrated Vaal River System which was at 76.8% in September 2024. This is unlikely to be affected by the LHWP shutdown, as there is expected to be enough water in the system to manage that.The issue of a Day Zero in Johannesburg is not a new discussion. It has been part of climate risk discussions for a number of years. We are a vulnerable city given our water scarcity, geographic location and climate impacts in the region. It is very important to discuss the possibility of a Day Zero given the climate crisis and for us to act on what Prof Engelbrecht is advocating for – to urgently develop a disaster risk management plan to deal with a Day Zero scenario in the next five years. The climate experts are correct in their assessment that there could be a water outage within five years because of the storage capacity of the dams supplying Gauteng, poor water infrastructure, and climate change.
But right now, the challenge we are facing is an infrastructural one. We are in a situation where there are going to be areas without water for an extended period and an increasing number of areas are being affected by intermittent supply and throttling. There is water in the system but it just is not getting to people.
Local government has instituted level 1 water restrictions, asking people to save water, not to use hosepipes in the garden, or for washing cars and washing pavements. But the huge trust deficit between government and people has resulted in these restrictions mostly being ignored. This is then exacerbated by the number of leaks and response times to fix the leaks. It is difficult to get by-in from people when they don’t have water in their taps or see water running down the street – but we all have to be water wise and responsible in our own water use especially as water access gets more difficult with climate change.
South Africa as a whole has to change our relationship with water. We need to have forward-thinking ideas on how we use water. We cannot be flushing clean drinking water – this is a waste of water and money. There needs to be a complete rethink – some of which will make us uncomfortable – but that is what we have to do in a water scarce country.
Sustainability is not just about having water and the quantity of that water, but it must also be about the quality. Industries such as mining and agriculture that use large amounts of water have to rethink the methods being used. The use of pesticides that are banned in Europe but used in Africa must be stopped. Our water is being polluted with substances that have long-term effects on people and the environment.
There is a role that everyone can and must play.
National government must seriously look at ring-fencing funding for water and sanitation and changing the allocation of grants. Perhaps national government should pay water boards directly instead of giving grants to local government that they aren’t spending anyway.
At a local level, all government entities need to prioritise fixing leaks, target problem areas like government buildings, and change the narrative that suggests that it’s up to the residents alone to save water – almost as if we have caused this situation. People need to be engaged and trust must be built to ensure that business, government and residents are included in saving campaigns and information. The authorities must use basic technology and systems to monitor water losses, and make water quality results public to build trust.
There must be an improved communication from the authorities that is not a blame game but one that is creating a clear understanding of what is going on. A WhatsApp that announces that a reservoir is empty so there will be no water is not helpful. Residents want timelines, clarity on what exactly the problem is, and an indication of when will it be fixed.
The bottom line is that the water crisis in South Africa – and Gauteng in particular – s a clarion call for immediate and radical action. The time for complacency is over. Government and businesses must step up and take full responsibility for the dire state of our water infrastructure. Years of neglect, corruption, pollution and mismanagement have brought us to the brink, and only bold, decisive measures can pull us back.
We demand that national and local governments prioritise water infrastructure repairs and maintenance, enforce stringent water-saving regulations, and hold accountable those who have failed in their duties. Businesses, particularly those in water-intensive industries, must adopt sustainable practices and significantly reduce their water consumption and pollution. The era of unchecked exploitation of our precious water resources must end.
Consumers, while playing their part in conserving water, must be empowered with transparent information and supported by robust government action. We must all unite in this fight – while government or business alone cannot solve the challenges, we must continue to hold our leaders accountable and demand the change we so desperately need.
Day Zero may soon be upon us. To avoid it, authorities and consumers have a responsibility to completely rethink how we use water.
About WaterCAN:
WaterCAN is a dedicated environmental organisation committed to preserving and protecting South Africa’s water resources. With a mission to promote responsible water management and raise awareness about water quality, the organisation empowers communities to become proactive stewards of their local water sources. If you would like to support our work, kindly Donate Here.