The Ekurhuleni Metro is also a culprit contributing to the current water crisis in Gauteng.
According to the Metro’s latest Water and Sanitation Transformation Strategy, which was tabled to the Council, the Metro’s infrastructure renewal rate for water networks is a shocking 0,05% per year.
To maintain reliable water supply, the best practice for asset renewal, or upgrading, is an annual rate of between 1 and 2%.
At the moment 29,1% of all the water that the Metro procures from Rand Water is lost due to water leakages, theft or infrastructure inefficiency even before it reaches residents’ taps.
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 curbing water losses.
It is clear that Ekurhuleni 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 access to 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 Metro raises 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.
