Water cutoffs in Lenasia’s informal settlements shed light on Johannesburg’s water supply challenges

On Tuesday morning 12 November, the Daily Maverick reported that an operation by technicians of Johannesburg Water utility to cut connections had to be aborted, due to a standoff between the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and residents from Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia South (a suburb south of Soweto). Phumla Mqashi, home to an estimated 13,000 to 17,000 households, lacks formal water infrastructure, just like four other informal settlements in Lenasia. Kagiso Manganye, Johannesburg Water regional manager of the Deep South said on the day of the standoff that at least 23,000 households are estimated to be using illegally connected water in the informal settlements of Lenasia. 

Phumla Mqashi was initially served by water tanks, on a directive from the Department of Human Settlements. By law, informal settlements must be provided with water and sanitation services through water tanks and chemical toilets. Johannesburg Water says that due to ongoing land grabs and subsequent illegal water connections, these tanks were vandalised, leading to increased strain on the local water supply network. 

The November 12th cutoffs are part of Johannesburg Water’s initiative to address what spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala referred to as “substantial challenges posed by unauthorised connections to the city’s water network”. According to Shabalala, these connections are a major contributor to water losses in the city, and Johannesburg Water plans to disconnect all unauthorised connections in the area and restore water tank services for essential water provision.”

Bulk water provider Rand Water’s board chairperson Ramateu Monyokolo said at a briefing on November 11, that at its maximum, Rand Water provides 5.2 billion litres of per day water to municipalities in the province of Gauteng – South Africa’s industrial heartland. Of this, municipalities lose 2.5 billion litres (48%) a day, through leaks, ageing infrastructure, high temperatures and theft. According to the Mayor of Johannesburg, the city currently spends R 1 billion (€ 53 million) a year fixing leakages in the system  

Several communities in Gauteng, including Midrand, Winchester Hills, Soweto and parts of Tshwane (formerly Pretoria), have now been without water for several weeks, a situation which is a repeat of the problems experienced throughout Gauteng last summer. 
The City of Johannesburg’s water reservoir levels are dropping dangerously low and authorities are implementing restrictions to manage dwindling supplies, the Citizen reports. The Vaal Dam, the main supply dam for Johannesburg and an essential part of the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), recorded a capacity of approximately 31.5% of its full storage capacity (FSC) of 2.5 billion cubic metres, this week. The department’s comparison noted that it went down from 33.1% the previous week, while it stood at 72.8% last year.

As the city of Johannesburg has experienced increasingly frequent interruptions to daily water supply, level 1 restrictions (a prohibition of garden watering, car washing, and the filling of swimming pools) have been implemented since September, as well as restricted water supply from November 14 onwards, between 21:00 and 04:00 daily. The last measure enables the reservoir levels to recover overnight and will be implemented continuously until the system has fully recovered. 

Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, reported on November 11 at a media briefing, that they have reached a unanimous agreement on the causes of the water supply interruptions and what needs to be done to restore a stable water supply to residents of Johannesburg. Majodina said reducing water losses requires a multi-pronged approach by the city. This includes amongst others, improving billing and revenue collection to increase the funds available for maintenance and to provide better incentives for water to be used efficiently, improving pressure management and replacing ageing pipes which burst frequently.

These developments are taking place in the context of a national audit of municipal water supply published by the Department of Water and Sanitation – the 2023 No Drop Report in June 2023. This report analysed the status of water losses, non-revenue water (NRW) and water use efficiency in South African municipalities as of June 2022. The report devotes significant attention to the performance of the mandated Water Service Authorities (WSA), which may provide water directly as a public municipal service or form a joint venture with a Water Service Provider to ensure that services are delivered. WSA’s are required, through legislation, to measure and monitor performance related to water use targets, Non-Revenue Water (NRW), water losses and water use efficiency. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is tasked with regulating the WSAs’ performance. 

In the 2023 No Drop Report, provinces and their municipalities are listed and compared through their performance on a ‘No Drop Score’ - a measure used to assess a WSA’s status on key performance indicators and related business operations, water conservation and demand management, their WC/WDM strategies and budgets, and implementation of WC/WDM projects. Across the country, the No Drop Report found that non-revenue water increased from 37% in 2014 to 47% in 2023.

The No Drop 2023 Report’s audit attributes a score of 72% for the City of Johannesburg, indicating ‘average performance’ by national standards. Compared to Johannesburg, the city of Cape Town performs better, with the audit attributing the City of Cape Town with an ‘excellent score’ of 92%.