* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Monday, September 15, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Are Going on Tour—Here’s the List – yahoo.com

    Experience the Thrill: Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Hit the Road-Don’t Miss the Tour!

    Ryan Reynolds reveals he called a journalist who said mean things about John Candy – yahoo.com

    Ryan Reynolds Reveals the Moment He Stood Up to a Journalist Who Insulted John Candy

    Entertainment Community Fund Launches Program Supporting Entrepreneurs – Playbill

    Entertainment Community Fund Unveils Exciting New Program to Empower Entrepreneurs

    Behind the turntables: DJ Johnny Kage’s story of perseverance – yahoo.com

    Behind the Turntables: DJ Johnny Kage’s Inspiring Journey of Perseverance

    The other WWE star James Gunn wanted for Peacemaker instead of John Cena – yahoo.com

    The WWE Star James Gunn Originally Wanted for Peacemaker Instead of John Cena

    Quinta Brunson, John Stamos Join Entertainment and Technology Summit – Variety

    Quinta Brunson and John Stamos to Headline Thrilling Entertainment and Technology Summit

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Unlocking AI Success: How People, Process, and Technology Form the Ultimate Triangle

    Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable – The Guardian

    Billion-Dollar Coffins? How New Technology Could Make Oceans Transparent and Expose Submarines

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    Lincoln Trail College Receives $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum Corporation for Technology Center – wwbl.com

    Lincoln Trail College Lands $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum to Elevate Technology Center

    Aston Martin to integrate Pirelli’s cyber tyre technology in future models – Just Auto

    Aston Martin to Revolutionize Future Models with Pirelli’s Cutting-Edge Cyber Tyre Technology

    Figure Technology’s stock sizzles after IPO, as investors stay hungry for crypto deals – MarketWatch

    Figure Technology’s Stock Skyrockets After IPO Amid Surging Crypto Investor Excitement

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Are Going on Tour—Here’s the List – yahoo.com

    Experience the Thrill: Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Hit the Road-Don’t Miss the Tour!

    Ryan Reynolds reveals he called a journalist who said mean things about John Candy – yahoo.com

    Ryan Reynolds Reveals the Moment He Stood Up to a Journalist Who Insulted John Candy

    Entertainment Community Fund Launches Program Supporting Entrepreneurs – Playbill

    Entertainment Community Fund Unveils Exciting New Program to Empower Entrepreneurs

    Behind the turntables: DJ Johnny Kage’s story of perseverance – yahoo.com

    Behind the Turntables: DJ Johnny Kage’s Inspiring Journey of Perseverance

    The other WWE star James Gunn wanted for Peacemaker instead of John Cena – yahoo.com

    The WWE Star James Gunn Originally Wanted for Peacemaker Instead of John Cena

    Quinta Brunson, John Stamos Join Entertainment and Technology Summit – Variety

    Quinta Brunson and John Stamos to Headline Thrilling Entertainment and Technology Summit

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Unlocking AI Success: How People, Process, and Technology Form the Ultimate Triangle

    Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable – The Guardian

    Billion-Dollar Coffins? How New Technology Could Make Oceans Transparent and Expose Submarines

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    Lincoln Trail College Receives $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum Corporation for Technology Center – wwbl.com

    Lincoln Trail College Lands $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum to Elevate Technology Center

    Aston Martin to integrate Pirelli’s cyber tyre technology in future models – Just Auto

    Aston Martin to Revolutionize Future Models with Pirelli’s Cutting-Edge Cyber Tyre Technology

    Figure Technology’s stock sizzles after IPO, as investors stay hungry for crypto deals – MarketWatch

    Figure Technology’s Stock Skyrockets After IPO Amid Surging Crypto Investor Excitement

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Gauteng’s water crisis: Delays, demand, and dwindling supply threaten sustainability

February 29, 2024
in Business
Gauteng’s water crisis: Delays, demand, and dwindling supply threaten sustainability
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In Gauteng, South Africa’s smallest but industrial heartland province, water scarcity looms as demand outstrips supply. The Vaal Dam, a vital water source, is only 70% full. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, meant to alleviate shortages, is delayed, exacerbating the strain on the growing population of 15.1 million. Johannesburg’s water crisis is further compounded by poor financial management, ageing infrastructure, and excessive water consumption. Urgent action, including addressing non-revenue water and promoting responsible water usage, is crucial to prevent a breakdown in the social pact and ensure a sustainable water supply.

Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.

By Craig Sheridan*

Since the latter part of 2023 hardly a week has gone by without some residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, losing their water supply. Notices of planned outages from the local water authority are a common occurrence. Unplanned water shutdowns also happen regularly.

The entire city has been affected – shanty towns, less affluent and more affluent parts of the city. The Conversation Africa asked geography professor Craig Sheridan, director of the Centre in Water Research and Development at the University of the Witwatersrand, what’s gone wrong.

Why don’t Johannesburg citizens have enough water?

The water allocation for each province is based on the amount available in the dams (which must also supply our future needs) and the number of people in that province. Currently the Vaal Dam is 70% full.

Rand Water – the area’s bulk water supplier – buys the water from the Department of Water and Sanitation, which will only sell a certain amount to it. Rand Water takes water mainly from the Vaal Dam – the region’s biggest – and treats it to potable quality. It then sells the water to Johannesburg and Pretoria (and other cities and towns) which are in Gauteng, the smallest of South Africa’s nine provinces and its industrial heartland.

The cities sell the water to their residents through their distribution systems.

Rand Water is not allowed to supply more than the amount set by the Department of Water and Sanitation. But there is a mismatch between what’s allocated by the national government and what’s needed on the ground. This is because the national government takes into consideration future needs.

Why can’t new dams be built to supply more water?

This is the plan. But the next phase (Phase 2) of the Lesotho Highlands Scheme is eight years behind schedule. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a multinational project to provide water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and to generate hydro-electricity for Lesotho. Work on the dam design started in 2017 and tender design was completed during 2020. Construction is expected to be completed with commissioning expected in 2028.

This eight-year delay roughly coincided with a period during which the population of Gauteng grew from 12 million to 15.1 million people. In 2023 the province had the same amount of water storage for a population that had grown by over 3 million people (or 25%), because the dam was not built.

There is now substantially less water for everyone in the province, including residents of Johannesburg.

Why are Joburg residents struggling to get water?

The City of Johannesburg is running its finances poorly. The maintenance bill for water infrastructure is R2 billion (US$105 million) per year, but only R1 billion (US$52 million) is allocated. Maintenance needs are spiralling out of control. The city bills residents for rates, water, electricity, sewage and other services. However, the funds received are not ring-fenced. Other projects are competing for the same pot of money.

Because the infrastructure is ageing (for example in the suburb of Parkwood the infrastructure is older than 70 years), the pipes rust and break. When they break, they leak, sometimes releasing very large quantities of water, before they are repaired. When the city responds to requests by residents for repairs, the response, if it comes, is often too little and the job is poorly done. There is little oversight or accountability by the city to ensure the contractors have done the job correctly and the repairs often do not last long.

Also, 15 million people are relying on a system designed for far fewer people. When everyone starts to use water, there just isn’t enough to go around.

There is also an additional factor in this discussion: non-revenue water. This is the term used for water that’s unbilled by the city – in other words, free water, unauthorised consumption or water lost due to leakages. This is water that is supplied by Rand Water, but is essentially “financially lost”.

In South Africa, the government gives a free basic allowance of 6,000 litres per month to every household.

Gauteng has non-revenue water of 49.2% (pages 25 to 27) – in other words, almost half the water that’s supplied to the cities in the province cannot be charged for (by the cities) because it forms part of the basic allowance, is lost through leaks or is stolen. By comparison, Denmark has non-revenue water of about 7%. Chile, also a country with variable climate, has urban non-revenue water of about 32%.

Of the non-revenue water, the leakage portion for Gauteng is half. In other words, for every four litres provided to Gauteng by Rand Water, one litre is wasted through leakage (the city’s fault) and one litre is either given away for free (public good), stolen (the public’s fault), or not accounted for (much harder to allocate blame). This means only half of what is provided can be charged for.

Now to water usage. The average consumption in Gauteng is 279 litres per person per day. This is:

more than 60% greater than the global average
the highest of any province
27% more than the country average.

Gauteng citizens use too much, the cities waste way too much and there is too much theft of drinking water. The social pact is breaking down as a consequence. This is indicated by the number of civic action groups forming, for example WaterCAN.

To restore this pact, the city needs to focus on non-revenue water, by allocating the correct and appropriate maintenance spend to fix and even renew the water network. At the same time citizens need to seriously consider their own water usage and how to reduce it. The citizens of Cape Town were forced to face the possibility of the taps running dry permanently in 2018 during a five-year drought. Water consumption was drastically limited, forcing people to become very water conscious.

This has to become the new normal if there is to be uninterrupted water supply.

Read also:

No hard cash or soft water – Gauteng’s ‘perfect storm’
RW Johnson: Why ANC-SACP persists with disastrous economic policy; Joburg’s unfixable water crisis
What will it take to fix SA’s rapidly deteriorating water crisis?

This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished with permission

*Craig Sheridan: Chair professor, University of the Witwatersrand

Visited 606 times, 606 visit(s) today

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : BizNews – https://www.biznews.com/sarenewal/2024/02/28/gautengs-water-crisis

Tags: businessGauteng’swater
Previous Post

A deeper look into the manifestos of Rise Mzansi, DA, EFF, and Change Starts Now: Steuart Pennington

Next Post

Heystek on R12bn Income Fund exposed to R800m in taxi industry loss

Washington takes on flawed federal climate report – NewsRadio 560 KPQ

Washington Challenges Key Flaws in Federal Climate Report

September 14, 2025
James Webb telescope’s ‘starlit mountaintop’ could be the observatory’s best image yet — Space photo of the week – Live Science

James Webb Telescope Unveils Stunning ‘Starlit Mountaintop’ – Perhaps Its Most Breathtaking Image Yet

September 14, 2025

Colby College Announces Exciting New $150 Million Science Facility Funded by Anonymous Donor

September 14, 2025
Maine Coon Cat’s Sweet Love Story With Tiny Sphynx Kitty Is Touching Hearts – yahoo.com

Adorable Maine Coon and Tiny Sphynx Share a Heartwarming Love Story

September 14, 2025

Unlocking AI Success: How People, Process, and Technology Form the Ultimate Triangle

September 14, 2025
Transgender student who challenged Idaho sports ban drops lawsuit – KTVB

Transgender student who challenged Idaho sports ban drops lawsuit – KTVB

September 14, 2025
Ricky Hatton, former world boxing champion, found dead in his home at age 46 – cbsnews.com

Heartbreaking News: Former World Boxing Champion Ricky Hatton Dies at 46

September 14, 2025
US, Chinese officials hold talks in Spain on trade irritants, TikTok deadline – Reuters

US and Chinese Officials Convene in Spain to Resolve Trade Disputes and Address TikTok Deadline

September 14, 2025
Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Are Going on Tour—Here’s the List – yahoo.com

Experience the Thrill: Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Hit the Road-Don’t Miss the Tour!

September 14, 2025
What’s Happening in Health: Kids & Mental Health Town Hall – WKRC

Inside the Kids & Mental Health Town Hall: Key Insights You Can’t Miss

September 14, 2025

Categories

Archives

September 2025
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« Aug    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (820)
  • Economy (839)
  • Entertainment (21,717)
  • General (17,037)
  • Health (9,883)
  • Lifestyle (855)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (843)
  • Politics (848)
  • Science (16,050)
  • Sports (21,340)
  • Technology (15,822)
  • World (822)

Recent News

Washington takes on flawed federal climate report – NewsRadio 560 KPQ

Washington Challenges Key Flaws in Federal Climate Report

September 14, 2025
James Webb telescope’s ‘starlit mountaintop’ could be the observatory’s best image yet — Space photo of the week – Live Science

James Webb Telescope Unveils Stunning ‘Starlit Mountaintop’ – Perhaps Its Most Breathtaking Image Yet

September 14, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version