Lack of maintenance to blame for water issues in Gauteng, says expert

The water supply issues in parts of Gauteng have nothing to do with water scarcity but more about the collapse of the institutions of government.

This is according to water expert Prof Anthony Turton, who told TimesLIVE on Monday that maintenance of the water infrastructure was lacking.

“The problem is that we’re living in a systematic collapse,” he said.

Turton said one of the biggest challenges is water lost due to leaking pipes, and said in Gauteng, close to 50% of the losses per capita consumption is due to leaking pipes.

The high influx of people to Gauteng was also a challenge, as the infrastructure struggled to cope with demand. 

“The infrastructure took strain post-1994, and the government was warned about this.”

According to Turton, in 2002 there was a water resource strategy report, which was handed to the government. He said the report painted a bleak picture of how water resources were constrained. 

“The report found that we are using 98% of our water allocation. Government should have taken steps than to say, what do we need to do to get additional water? So the government failed to comprehend the issues raised in the report.”

The recent water pipeline upgrades done in parts of Johannesburg were not a sufficient solution to the maintenance issues, Turton said.

“They were putting a bandage on top of a sore. There are underlying issues of maintenance that have never been addressed.”

TimesLIVE

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