Johannesburg Water
By Thobeka Makume
Starting Thursday, 14 November 2024, Johannesburg will implement nightly water throttling from 9 pm to 4 am to allow reservoir levels to recover. This measure, announced by Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina during a media briefing on Monday, aims to stabilize the city’s water supply amid ongoing challenges.
The decision follows an urgent meeting held on Sunday, where stakeholders reached a consensus on the causes of water supply interruptions and the necessary steps to restore stability. Minister Majodina highlighted that the 2023 No Drop report found Gauteng’s average water consumption to be 279 litres per person per day, 60% above the global average of 173 litres. This is concerning, given South Africa’s status as one of the top 30 driest countries globally.
The report also revealed that Johannesburg’s water losses stand at 35%, compared to the international norm of 15%. To address these issues, a multi-pronged approach is required, including improving billing and revenue collection, enhancing pressure management, and replacing ageing pipes prone to frequent bursts.
In collaboration with Rand Water, provincial government, Gauteng municipalities, civil society, business leaders, and experts, a large-scale communications and awareness campaign is underway to promote water conservation. An independent body, the Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng, has been established to manage this campaign. A dashboard on the Department of Water and Sanitation’s website now provides the public with detailed information on the status of water supply in Gauteng.
Johannesburg Water has outlined several measures to conserve water:
• Nightly Throttling: Implementing water supply throttling between 9 pm and 4 am from 14 November until the system fully recovers.
• Emergency Repairs: Procuring contractors for emergency repairs of large-diameter pipe leaks and increasing the number of standby teams during the week to address leaks and burst pipes.
• Enhanced Maintenance: Increasing repair and maintenance teams on duty during weekends to improve leak repair response times from 48 hours to 24 hours.
• Resource Allocation: Increasing the number of trucks available to leak repair and maintenance teams.
• Illegal Connections: Implementing cut-offs of illegal connections in key informal settlements.
• Pressure Management: Installing 45 Smart Pressure Controllers, in addition to the 15 already refurbished and retrofitted, to reduce water losses at night when demand is low.
• Leak Detection: Accelerating leak detection efforts, with 12,100 km of water pipelines surveyed and numerous leaks identified and repaired, resulting in an estimated water demand reduction of 9,457 million litres per annum.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Working with National Treasury to establish a Public-Private Partnership for reducing non-revenue water, mobilizing private sector funding and expertise.
Minister Majodina expressed confidence that these measures will be implemented with the necessary urgency. Weekly meetings will be held every Sunday to monitor progress.
In related developments, Johannesburg Water announced an aggressive operation to curb non-revenue water losses amid the constrained water supply in the metro. This includes addressing illegal connections and enhancing infrastructure maintenance. 
Residents are urged to use water sparingly and adhere to the implemented measures to ensure a stable and sustainable water supply for all.
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