Gauteng water shortages: A perfect storm ‘turning into a hurricane’

The water shortages that have affected thousands of people in Gauteng are a “perfect storm” that is “developing into a hurricane”, said water expert Anja du Plessis.

Taps have run dry in several suburbs for weeks, with high-lying areas worst hit, because of rolling blackouts that affect the pumping of water, major infrastructural backlogs and increased demand because of hot temperatures. 

The biggest drivers are decaying water storage, supply and treatment infrastructure; poor planning; lack of financing to maintain ageing infrastructure and the government’s failure to keep pace with rapid urbanisation in the three biggest metros, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, according to Du Plessis, associate professor and research specialist in integrated water resource management at Unisa.

“You have this thing of delayed action or no action at all, and that has obviously contributed to the collapse of infrastructure in certain regions of Johannesburg, but you also have issues of poor planning because the city has exploded in terms of population.”