Johannesburg Water has an infrastructure renewal backlog that runs into billions

Ward 99 councillor and Shadow Minister of Infrastructure Nicole van Dyk is warning that Johannesburg Water has effectively gone broke.

“Most of the city’s entities are struggling. Last year, Johannesburg Water (JW) had an underfunded budget of R80b and did not have a plan for where to source the funds.”

She says collecting revenue from the provincial government and the treasury is vital, as are rates and taxes from residents.

“Non-paying customers are often a symptom of an ailing economy and high unemployment levels. There is also the middle class, which is the highest bracket for revenue collection, but who are also in droves going off the grid. They are supplementing their electricity with solar, collecting rainwater in JoJo tanks and sinking boreholes. All of this means the city is collecting less each month than previously.”

Losses of unmetered water from leaks is she says, ‘unacceptable’.

However, she says, one of the biggest problems is the many provincial entities that do not pay their water bills. “Major hospitals and schools are two I can think of off the top of my head.”

The loss of these funds means there is less cash available for operational costs and capital expenditure projects.

She says in an ideal world, the minimum length of pipe replacements by JW per year should be around 100km. “In the last quarter, no pipes were replaced, and their annual target is only 28km because they have no funding.

This results in old and ailing infrastructure not being fixed or replaced timely resulting in leaks and faults. “They also have a drastically reduced fleet of vehicles available as the contract for the trucks fell through the cracks.”

Van Dyk says in the past, large trucks would be seen around the city but now small bakkies are in service. “They can only carry one team and very limited equipment which slows down repairs a lot.”

One road in her ward, Barkston Drive, has been suffering for eight years with leaks from pipes that burst or break regularly. “Last year, the project to replace the pipes was finally approved but there has been no movement – I suspect due to a lack of funds and, or capacity.”

Bridget Steer, Ward 87 councillor laments the lack of urgency when it comes to replacing old infrastructure. “Along Main Road in Melville is a main water pipe that was installed in 1908. Its expected useful age was 80 years. The 525mm steel pipe is in very poor condition and is always leaking. New leaks emerge after repairs have been done along the 970m steel pipe.”

JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala says, “There is an infrastructure renewal backlog that runs into billions. The reason for the backlog is underfunding, which further causes premature failure of municipal assets.”

The renewal backlog requirement can be broken down as follows:
– Water mains replacement: R3.8b
– Sewer mains replacement: R3.4b
– Water and sewer capacity upgrading backlog: R11.9b
– Wastewater treatment works capacity upgrading and equipment replacement: R5.1

“Just like other City of Johannesburg entities, JW has a serious problem of non-paying customers who owe the city millions. JW is owed by customers more than R29.1b as of December 2023. Added to that are issues of illegal connections and theft and vandalism of the infrastructure which sets the city back financially.”

She says infrastructure used for bulk services like water and sewage systems needs maintenance. “This cannot be done if the city and JW do not generate an income, hence the importance of effective revenue collection.

“The entity continues to work with the municipality to enhance the collection of the debt through credit management activities. These include among others credit control, disconnections, by law enforcement, and legal action as may be necessary.”

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