In a nutshell, there is enough water in the system for all of Joburg’s residents.
Pemmy Majodina, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, read a joint statement by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Gauteng Office of the Premier, City of Johannesburg and Rand Water on water challenges in Johannesburg.
Majodina said the amount of water that Rand Water can abstract from the system is not affected by the current closure of the Lesotho Highlands Tunnel for maintenance.
She said the Vaal Dam is currently approximately 33% full.
If and when its level drops to 18%, water will be released from other dams in the system, including the Sterkfontein Dam, to increase the amount of water in the Vaal Dam.
“The 2023 No Drop report found that the average consumption of water in Gauteng is 279 litres per person per day. This is 60% above the world average of 173 litres per person per day, which is an anomaly given that South Africa is a water-scarce country with limited sustainable water resources and amongst the top 30 driest countries globally.”
Nothing in the water value chain is scheduled to change.
Johannesburg Water, which is an entity of the City, buys treated water from Rand Water and supplies it to the residents of the City. Rand Water in turn buys raw, untreated water from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). Rand Water abstracts raw water from the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), which consists of 19 interconnected dams, including major dams such as the Vaal Dam, the Sterkfontein Dam, and the Katse and Mohale Dams in Lesotho. Rand Water treats the raw water so that it meets drinking water quality standards, stores it in bulk storage reservoirs and pumps it into the municipality’s reservoirs. From the municipal storage reservoirs, the water either flows under the force of gravity or is pumped through various distribution pipelines to households and industries across the city.
To ensure a continuous reliable supply of water to users even in times of drought, DWS sets a limit on the amount of raw water that Rand Water is allowed to abstract annually from the Integrated Vaal River System. The limit is currently 1802 million cubic metres of water per annum.
A meeting with water authorities on Sunday, decided on the following interventions to save water in Johannesburg: Throttling of water supply between 9 pm and 4 am, to kickstart on the 14 November, until the system has fully recovered. Focus on fixing leaks, through the procurement of a panel of contractors for emergency repairs of large diameter pipe water leaks, as well as increasing the number of teams on standby during the week, to attend to leaks and burst pipes.Implementing cut-offs of illegal connections in key informal settlements. Implementing advanced pressure management systems, including the installation of 45 Smart Pressure Controllers (pressure reducing valves).
In attendance at the meeting on Sunday, was the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Gauteng Premier – Panyaza Lesufi, the Deputy Ministers of Water and Sanitation-David Mahlobo and Mr Sello Seitlholo, the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Gauteng MEC-Jacob Mamabolo, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg-Dada Morero and the leadership of Rand Water.
Picture: Johannesburg Water