Gauteng Water Outages Due to Municipal Failures – Well I Never?

Dear Editor

Water shortages plaguing Gauteng and surrounding provinces are not due to low supply – but bad governance.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) acknowledges concerns on decreasing water levels at the Vaal Dam, which currently supplies Rand Water, much of Gauteng, as well as parts of Mpumalanga, the Free State, and the North West. While the Dam’s levels are decreasing as expected due to scheduled maintenance on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project tunnels, there is no immediate cause for panic. The Department of Water and Sanitation has committed to releasing water from the Sterkfontein Dam once the Vaal Dam reaches 18%, anticipated by 23 December 2024, to sustain supply through the Integrated Vaal River System.

The DA wishes to reiterate that the crux of the issue are municipal failures to address water losses and non-revenue water. This ongoing crisis reflects the inability of municipalities to manage their water systems effectively, especially in Johannesburg, which draws significant public attention. Municipalities in Gauteng are failing to take decisive action on two critical areas of water management:

• High Technical Losses: Municipalities are losing water due to outdated and poorly maintained infrastructure, such as leaking pipes and faulty meters.
• Non-Revenue Water: Water is lost due to illegal connections, meter tampering, and unbilled consumption, resulting in significant financial losses.

Despite interventions by municipalities such as Johannesburg to improve turnaround times for water leak repairs and reduce water losses, there has been no concrete budgetary commitment to large-scale pipe replacement. This failure to prioritise the necessary infrastructure investment continues to undermine the sustainability of the region’s water supply. The DA reiterates the urgent need for municipalities to allocate significant additional funding for replacing ageing water infrastructure. Without a serious and immediate commitment to reduce technical losses and non-revenue water, Gauteng faces the growing risk of unsustainable water use that could lead to an actual Day Zero scenario for the Vaal Dam and the broader Integrated Vaal River System.

We demand municipalities to:

• Set clear, time-bound targets for reducing water losses.
• Allocate dedicated budget increases for pipe replacement and infrastructure upgrades.
• Improve enforcement measures to curb illegal water connections and meter tampering.

Water is a shared resource and a critical human right. While national initiatives, such as the planned Sterkfontein Dam releases aim to stabilise the immediate crisis, municipalities must take full accountability for their role in water management. Sustainable water provision in Gauteng depends on action to stop the chronic mismanagement of municipal water systems.

The Democratic Alliance will continue to advocate for transparent and effective governance at all levels to ensure South Africa’s water future remains secure.

Regards

Stephen Moore MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Water & Sanitation