Water scarcity is defined as an excess of demand over available supply, signalled by unsatisfied demand or tensions between users. The definition for water security according to UN Water is: “the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socio-economic development…” In South Africa, water is allocated by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) based on the population of a region, and the availability of water in the storage systems (i.e. dams). This allocation is sold by the DWS to the bulk water utility (Rand Water for Gauteng) who treat it to potable quality. They sell this freshwater to a number of metropolitan municipalities who sell it onwards to consumers (for Johannesburg the metro entity is Joburg Water). There is however a mismatch between what the DWS sells and what is needed - the DWS is responsible for supplying not only current but also future needs. South Africa (particularly Johannesburg) is not currently water scarce but is currently water insecure.
Johannesburg, located at a high altitude has no large rivers or natural water sources. The government has created a system of large dams and inter-basin transfer schemes to supply water to the province, the centre of industrial activity and population mass. Additional dams are currently being built in Lesotho as part of the Lesotho Highlands Transfer Scheme, however these are delayed by 8 years. This delay coincides exactly with a period where Gauteng grew from 12 to 15 million people. This means that in 2023 we had the same water allocation for a population which had grown by 25%. Johannesburg is also poorly run. Finances, in particular, are not well managed. There is a maintenance bill in excess of R2 billion (€100 million) but only R1 billion was allocated. Maintenance needs are spiralling out of control. Loss to non-revenue water is almost 50%. The implications are simple: half the water is available compared to 10 years ago which needs to supply 25% more people. Also, consumption is too high. Average usage in Johannesburg is 279 L/pd which is the highest of any province, 27% more than the country average, and 60% greater than the global average.
Average water usage in Johannesburg is the highest of any province, 27% more than the country average, and 60% greater than global average
What are the long-term prospects? Unfortunately, there is no more space in South Africa to construct new large dams. Thus after 2028, we have water storage limitations. Water security will decline. The FAO reports that South Africa’s water stress increased from 61% in 2016 to 65% in 2020. To improve water security, changes need to be made, especially in the economics and pricing of water. The value of water is R25/5L per bottle purchased at a supermarket when there is no water in the taps, yet for higher usage tiers of municipal billing, we pay only R17/kL. Much steeper tariffs can be applied to users of water that exceed their fair share. City governance must also improve.
Globally we need to reconsider how we value water. The future has to include direct reclamation (sewage to potable) as the global population moves towards 10 billion people. There is a critical need to conduct the necessary research to understand how new pathogens and emerging contaminants behave in wastewater treatment plants such that when we return treated sewage to the potable water systems, we do not harm our societies through increased exposure to pharmaceuticals, pesticides or forever chemicals (which will build up if not removed). We need to educate people to remove the yuck factor of drinking treated sewage; we already drink water sourced from our rivers which are highly contaminated by sewage/wastewater treatment plant outfall. Society, including the water sector, needs to embrace true circular thinking: if we are good engineers, we can derive significant value from our waste, and if we do this properly our new waste will be clean potable water. The question we need to ask is: Are we ready for this revolution?
