Is Gauteng water secure or is Day Zero looming?

Discussing water scarcity in Gauteng, especially after heavy rains due to Cyclone Eloise, may seem odd, but water security is a complex subject and South Africans have cause for concern. By Kirsten Kelly

Whenever I have presented on or talked about water security, it usually rains. And it is awfully hard to convince people that we have a water-security problem when it is raining,” states Gillian Maree, senior researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO).

Maree is an urban planner – specialising in sustainability, environmental management and spatial planning – with a specific interest in water and biodiversity. When Cape Town was experiencing the possibility of a ‘Day Zero’, the GCRO was approached by the Gauteng Provincial Government to help them understand whether Day Zero is likely for Gauteng and, if so, how can they avoid it. To answer these questions, Gillian, together with other water specialists, created the Water Security Perspective for the Gauteng City-Region document. A complex issue

Water security is defined as the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies.

“Looking at the risk part of the definition: if you are living in Alexandra or parts of Centurion that are prone to flooding, I would argue that you are not water secure at this point. Therefore, when we approach water security, we need to look at the entire water cycle. It is very difficult to give an absolute answer to the question, ‘Are we water secure?’ This is because of water security’s expansive definition,” explains Maree.

Another complexity is the unequal access to water. Gauteng can only claim to be water secure when all its residents have affordable access to safe and reliable water supplies, as well as to safely managed and dignified sanitation services. As this is essential for people’s health and dignity, it is important to expand access to water while also reducing water demand.

“The approach taken must be just, fair and pro-poor, and ensure that no one is left out. In South Africa’s unequal society, water users who normally enjoy high levels of service must be the first to make water savings in times of stress,” says Maree.

Due to Gauteng’s dense and urban city region, a high number of people do have access to water, but it is the reliability of water services that poses an issue. Some water services are unable to cope with large population densities and the water infrastructure fails. Many poorer communities experience weekly breaks in water services, meaning that they do not have any water security.

Finite amount of water in the IVRS (Integrated Vaal River System)

According to Maree, a lot of Gauteng’s water problems are location-based: “Gauteng sits on top of a watershed, so the bulk of our water drains out of the Vaal catchment and not into it. Compounding this problem is the fact that we have the smallest province by land area with largest population concentration and economy.

So, despite good rainfall forecasts in Gauteng, there is a finite amount of water in the IVRS and an ever-increasing demand placed on the system with a growing population and expanding economy.”

Water Security Perspective for the Gauteng City-Region states that the overall water demand for the Rand Water supply area (which covers most of Gauteng) is currently around 1 600 Mm3/annum. And 1 600 Mm3/annum is the limit that Rand Water is licensed by the Department of Water and Sanitation to withdraw from the IVRS.

This means that every person in Gauteng has roughly 270 litres per day (based on Rand Water’s estimates of the total supply provided and the population served).

With the Gauteng population growing at over 3% per year, it means that, every year, water needs to be supplied to over 400 000 additional people. To keep up with this population growth, we need to build a new water supply for a city the size of Soweto every five years.

Gauteng has reached a point where its available bulk water supply is capped, but its population continues to grow. Without new supplies, consumption per person will have to be reduced from 300 litres per person per day in 2018 to 220 litres per person per day by 2028 to stay at a level that can safely be supplied.

To achieve such a reduction will require an intensive water savings and demand management programme that may have to be supported by the imposition of formal restrictions. This programme will have to recognise that economic growth and improved living standards are likely to increase per capita water consumption.

Alternative water sources and tools for water conservation

One approach is investing in alternative water sources and tools for water conservation. “Rainwater harvesting is a popular choice. It reduces the amount of water drawn from public supplies, which could slightly reduce consumption from the overall system and enable reserves to be maintained. However, it cannot provide a significant supply source during the dry winter season nor if there is a severe drought. Some people also use boreholes.”

Maree also highlights the important work around stormwater management: “As our cities build and densify, rivers are constrained and tend to flood into properties and cause damage. The City of Johannesburg has brought in a revised stormwater management by-law that takes a more holistic approach.”

The development of wastewater reuse (based at existing treatment works) should also be considered. This will also contribute to an improvement of environmental water resource quality; however, it must be noted that there are downstream water users on both the Vaal and Crocodile rivers that depend on the flows of treated wastewater. The needs of these users will have to be considered in any application of reuse in Gauteng.

A balancing act between supply and demand

Maree states that, most importantly, we all need use water far more efficiently. “The Gauteng area receives half the average global rainfall. The average annual rainfall is only 495 mm compared to a world average of 1 033 mm; however, Gauteng uses nearly 50% more than the global average amount of water per capita.

The average daily water use per capita in South Africa is 235 litres (270 litres in Gauteng) – this is substantially higher than the world average of 173 litres.” Municipalities need to reduce physical losses from their distribution systems as well as unauthorised use that is not paid for. Non-revenue water needs to be managed from a city scale and there water should also be billed correctly.

Social institutions and businesses need to reduce their water consumption by introducing efficiency measures and many households must also be encouraged to reduce their water use. Potable water should not be used to fill swimming pools and water gardens. And all water users must be prepared for restrictions at times of drought while urban planning needs to drive towards water-efficient cities.

“A drought in Gauteng is going to happen, so we need to implement measures to reduce demand and tightly manage the IVRS early. Government needs to make politically unpopular decisions in the short term before we end up in a situation that is difficult to recover from later.

This is difficult within five-year political cycles, where we may make unpopular choices about water, but not necessarily reap the benefits in the short term. Furthermore, the water sector involves a complex system of institutions with different water-related mandates and stakeholders, which complicates its governance and management. Drought management requires different skill sets and expertise, and there must be coordination between these institutions,” explains Maree.

WHO IS THE GAUTENG CITY-REGION OBSERVATORY (GCRO)?

The GCRO was established in 2008 as a partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Gauteng Provincial Government, with local government in Gauteng also represented on the GCRO Board.

Gauteng has a fast-growing and dynamic urban region that – through improved planning, management and cooperative government relations between the spheres and sections of government responsible for its parts – will become more functionally integrated, spatially coherent, economically competitive, creative, innovative, environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. The GCRO is tasked with building strategic intelligence that can assist provincial government with better planning, management and cooperative governance.

Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II

LHWP Phase II is critical for Gauteng’s water security, which will see the IVRS expanded and strengthened by the construction of the Polihali Dam on a tributary of the Orange-Senqu River.

Maree maintains that until the project is completed, the province will be at risk of supply shortages if there is a prolonged dry period. Originally scheduled for completion by 2018, the LHWP is eight years late and if implemented immediately can now only be expected to supply water in 2028. This puts the province and surrounding IVRS region at significant risk if a serious drought occurs before the project is completed (which is likely).

Some good news

Water Security Perspective for the Gauteng City-Region was work done at the request of the Gauteng Provincial Government.

“Numerous water specialists contributed to this work and government officials from various departments and water entities were present at nearly every meeting where water security was discussed. They made sure that we framed the document within an urban context. There are definite plans to implement the findings. This includes broader stakeholder engagement, but Covid-19 happened and has created challenges. There has certainly been a shift. Water is something that is now being taken much more seriously on high levels,” concludes Maree.