Drought-hit Cape Town battles leaks

Water losses through leaks, theft or meter faults are rising in drought-stricken Cape Town.

The council's audited financial statements show a projected loss of more than 72 million kilolitres for 2016-2017, up 7million on the previous year.

The revelation comes as the city faces its worst recorded water shortage.

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But the mayoral committee for water member Xanthea Limberg played it down.

"The losses in the schedule submitted to the Treasury do not directly correlate with water losses as determined by the industry standard International Water Association's water balance method, hence the distortion," she said.

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Water losses between 2013-2014 and 2016-2017 remained well below the national average of 34.6%.

Limberg said a pipe replacement programme had reduced the number of bursts from 63.9 per 100km in the 2010/2011 financial year to 31 in the latest statistics.