Anja du Plessis, associate professor and water management expert at Unisa, said the water insecurity risks needed to be addressed urgently.
Water insecurity in Johannesburg and parts of the Gauteng will reach catastrophic levels in the coming years, warned WaterCAN executive manager Dr Ferrial Adam.
While this is a step in the right direction to prevent unfolding collapse in municipalities, Adam said it will exacerbate water challenges already experienced in Johannesburg over the past week.Areas in Soweto and suburban areas, including Randburg and Northcliff, are experiencing shortages with intermittent supply, while some areas have no water due to burst pipelines. She said Joburg Water also needed to get on board.
The bulk of disruptions to services starts today as maintenance to the Eikenhof and Zwartkopjes pump systems gets underway. Adam said the infrastructure deterioration across the city of Joburg and the lack of maintenance for about 10 years was the cause of the frequent challenges in the city.“The city has not allocated sufficient funding to the maintenance of decaying infrastructure and this crisis has been developing for many years.
According to the utility, the latest maintenance work will expand to broader Gauteng, with implementation in the city of Ekurhuleni and the city of Tshwane in July. The maintenance occurs a week after the department of water and sanitation’s director-general, Dr Sean Philip, launched Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng to approach the stabilisation of all water providers.
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