The FF Plus in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE ) says the water crisis in the metro stems from a web of municipal failures, ranging from failure to properly manage its infrastructure, resulting in significant water leakages.

The party expressed its concerns after Rand Water has for months repeatedly been asking Gauteng province municipalities to implement water restrictions as a measure to alleviate the growing water shortages in the province.

The party pointed out that at least 29.1% of the city’s water procured from Rand Water is lost through massive leakages even before it reaches residents’ taps.

The leaks are said to be a result of theft and poorly managed efficient municipal infrastructure.

“According to the city’s latest water and sanitation strategy, which was tabled in council, the metro’s infrastructure renewal rate for water networks is a shocking 0.05% per year.

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“To maintain reliable water supply, the best practice for asset renewal, or upgrading, is an annual rate of between 1 and 2%,” explained FF Plus’ councillor Rudolf Herbst in a statement.

He stated that the latest strategy has set a target of reducing water losses to 25% by 2030.

“It is not enough. The target for infrastructure renewal of water networks is 1,5%, which is much too low for addressing the high levels of infrastructure decay and to curb water losses.

“It is clear that the CoE will have to pull up its socks to help remedy Gauteng’s water crisis. Water restrictions alone will not resolve the crisis.

“Just like the power crisis, the water crisis faced by Gauteng is yet another man-made problem and municipalities, such as Ekurhuleni, should be brought to book for negligence.

“Citizens’ right to have enough, clean water is entrenched in the constitution. This right requires proactive and continual infrastructure investment as well as sound management by local authorities.”

The FF Plus demands that the city raise its infrastructure renewal rate to at least 2% to ensure that water losses are kept to a minimum and that the infrastructure can keep up with future demand.

Challenges

The city had previously acknowledged that in addition to the non-revenue of water lost through infrastructure challenges, a significant amount of water is lost to illegal connections and unmetered dwellings in informal settlements.

MMC Ekurhuleni Finance MMC, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, had in one of the recent council meetings, said the unmetered areas create problems for the city, and he suggested that the city design a model that will help ensure that the people who are using water in the areas in question pay for it.

Water management system

Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson confirmed that 29.1% of the city’s water was lost in the municipal water distribution system, saying the metro has as part of its water management system, put some measures in place to improve the work done to address infrastructure issues.

He said part of the strategy is decreasing the turnaround time to respond to reported and detected infrastructure failures, including water leaks and vandalism.

The city urges residents to use water wisely and report leakages to 0860 54 3000.

Those living in areas relying on communal taps for drinking water are also urged to see to it that those taps are not left open and report pipeline issues immediately.

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