R21 Billion Maintenance Water and Sewerage Backlog in Ekurhuleni
by Cllr Lornette Joseph — DA Member for Water, Energy and Sanitation in Ekurhuleni
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is facing a water crisis with weekly consumption increasing at a rate that is out of control alongside a maintenance backlog of over R21 billion for the water and sewerage networks as the ageing infrastructure continues to collapse.
Since September 2023 the CoE has seen a dramatic increase of 652 ML per day to a current 1041 ML per day — an alarming increase of 60% in consumption.
As is evident from Rand Water’s own graph, the CoE is simply losing the fight against saving water.
The green line in the graph represents Rand Water’s consumption agreement with different Metros. When the graph falls below the green line, it indicates that the metro is effectively managing its water consumption and demand.
However, if the graph exceeds the green line, it means that the metro is consuming more water than agreed upon. Metros with high consumption are encouraged to enhance their water conservation campaigns and collaborate with communities to reduce water usage.
In a reply to a DA question in Council, for the months of October — December 2023, a total of 2856 water leaks were reported across the metro. In addition, the city admitted that in August 2023, nearly 27% of all water was lost in the system due to ageing infrastructure. Given the above graph, the 27% seems a gross underrepresentation of the actual water loss.
The City has also admitted that due to a lack of continuous maintenance of the water and sewerage network over the past 24 years, the CoE has a backlog of over R21 Billion. This while only R6 Billion has been budgeted for.
Given the lack of maintenance over the years the residents of Ekurhuleni are facing a water crisis and the CoE needs to explain to the residents what it intends to do to avert this looming crisis, and implement this plan immediately.
The collapse of the City’s water and sewerage infrastructure reveals just how poorly the ANC has governed the city for the past 24 years.
Cllr Lornette Joseph
DA Member for Water, Energy and Sanitation in Ekurhuleni
083 847 4510
