Future of SA’s water supply under threat

South Africa loses between 37% and 40% of its drinking water every day, due to water leaks. 

Although this figure was confirmed by Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, the DWS said the water leaks “are not in the infrastructure that the DWS is responsible for, but rather within reticulation infrastructure of municipalities.” 

The department said in a statement on 3 September that Vaal Dam levels recently plummeted “to levels unseen since the beginning of 2017”. The Vaal Dam is currently 37.6% full. 

In light of the dam’s dwindling capacity, AfriForum wrote a letter to DWS minister Lindiwe Sisulu warning about the large-scale problem that water leaks present for the country, and requested the department appoint a task team to focus on repairing water leaks as soon as possible. 

The statement said that in addition to the Vaal Dam’s worrying levels, “the country can in particular not afford to lose water through leakages.” 

Ratau maintains that the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), which consists of fourteen dams, is “currently not under threat, and the expectation is that the summer rainfall in the different catchment areas will sufficiently replenish the IVRS and by extension the Vaal Dam.” 

AfriForum environmental affairs manager, Lambert de Klerk, said although the issue of water leaks is not new, municipalities are increasingly approaching day zero, most notably in the Eastern Cape and Polokwane. 

But despite this, he said it was an issue that constant maintenance across the country’s pipelines is not gaining the necessary traction to alleviate the amount of water wasted every day. 

Ratau said a combination of efforts allows for the dispatching of “immediate repairs” to infrastructure, proper operation and maintenance of the infrastructure, and reducing illegal connections and infrastructure vandalism. 

Ageing infrastructure is just one of the issues plaguing South Africa’s water scarcity, de Klerk said. 

“The main thing is constant maintenance. Waste water capacity is under strain, but we need to keep maintenance up, and not to wait for old infrastructure to break down to fix it and improve capacity.

“Planning is the basis for change,” he emphasised, explaining that AfriForum has taken matters in certain areas, such as Standerton and Bethel, into their own hands, by sinking boreholes to allow community members to get water. They also supplied water to Mamelodi residents at the beginning of the year.

He explained that many municipalities owe Eskom money, which results in reduced amounts of water being pumped into reservoirs. In turn, residents are left without water for hours, and sometimes days. This despite many residents paying their water bills. 

The water from the boreholes being sunk by AfriForum is tested once a month to ensure it is safe to drink. 

AfriForum has also launched a platform for community members to report leakage, which is reported to the department. 

The department’s plan must be proactive, and not reactionary, de Klerk continued, especially in light of a global pandemic, where one of the key factors in preventing the spread of the virus is to wash one’s hands regularly. 

Global warming contributing to uncertainty

This coupled with predicted increases in temperatures attributed to climate change compound South Africa’s already worrying water issues, and unfortunately, those that still do not have access to clean drinking water will bare the brunt of the department’s inability to quell leaks. 

South African Weather Service (Saws) lead scientist for climate change and variability, Dr Abiodun Adeola, said that tentative temperature predictions indicate that the interior and northern parts of South Africa in 50 years’ time will be between 35℃ and 39℃. 

South Africa is currently warming at an average rate of 0.17℃ per decade, with more extreme temperatures predicted. 

The country is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographical location in the dry sub-tropics, according to Saws’ climate change reference atlas. 

An increase in temperatures further threatens dam levels across the country. 

Ratau assured that the department does have a climate change response strategy, to secure its water supply “to 2030 and beyond”. This was however not elaborated on. 

De Klerk confirmed that AfriForum’s letter did receive a read receipt. 

While AfriForum waits for a response from Sisulu, the DWS has urged consumers to save water where possible.  

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