Joburg Water optimistic of turnaround plan amid challenges, R27bn backlog

By Natasha Odendaal

Against a challenging backdrop of high – and rising – water demand, illegal connections, nonpayment for water, servitude encroachments and aging infrastructure, Johannesburg Water is happy with the progress it is making on its intervention programmes to ensure the City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ’s) water supply.

Recently, Johannesburg Water has attracted significant public criticism, with many raising concern over the sustainability of the city’s water security as residents face frequent water outages, often for days or weeks at a time.

Discussing the turnaround plan underway, the utility’s achievements over the past year and its plans for the next year, Johannesburg Water MD Ntshavheni Mukwevho told media at an editors’ roundtable on Tuesday that the entity faces many challenges.

These include nonrevenue water of 46.2% – against a target of 35% – which includes commercial losses of 9.7%, unbilled/unmetered consumption of 11.7% and physical losses of 24.8%.

Further exacerbating the challenges are vandalism and theft of assets, along with illegal connections and significant encroachment on its servitudes, which make it difficult for the utility to access its pipeline in the event of leaks or maintenance. In one such example, Johannesburg Water found 280 residences built over its bulk pipeline in Protea Glen.

A high rate of urban migration and an increase in water demand, along with significantly low payment levels – 76.1% against the sustainable level of 83%, which poses financial risk to the organisation – places strain on the entity’s infrastructure.

Johannesburg Water distributes, stores and supplies about 1.75-billion litres a day of potable drinking water through its network of 12 520 km of water pipes, 129 reservoirs and towers and 37 water pump stations to residents of the CoJ.

Since 2001, water demand has increased from 1.1-billion litres a day to 1.8-billion litres a day currently –