Gauteng loses a third of its water annually
Gauteng municipalities collectively lost 480 980 000 kilolitres of water in the 2011 / 12 financial year, amounting to a staggering R7.84 billion in financial losses. This represents 36.7% of all water purchased by Gauteng municipalities and points to a growing crisis in water management in the province.
In response to my question, Gauteng Local Government and Housing MEC Ntombi Mekgwe revealed the detailed breakdown of water losses in Gauteng municipalities. This can be access here.
Of great concern is the fact that water losses are on the increase, up from 35.9% in 2010/11 with the main culprits being the three metros recording losses as follows in 2011/12:
Municipality |
Water lost --> |
% |
Johannesburg |
206 020 000KL |
39.3% --> |
Ekurhuleni |
133 250 000 KL |
39.3% |
Tswane --> |
77 290 000 KL |
25.2% |
The main reasons provided for the huge loss of water annually according to the MEC include:
- Lack of skilled technical staff;
- Financial challenges to manage Operations and Maintenance;
- Water loss implementation is inadequate
- Tariff setting not cost reflective;
- Tariff setting not promoting water loss management;'
- Reliance on grants and subsidies;
- Lack of information on water losses;
- Ageing infrastructure challenges.