(a) Through the water balance information submitted by Water Service Authorities (WSAs), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) makes determinations of water losses. The last comprehensive analysis on water losses and non-revenue water (NRW) was undertaken in 2016/17. The total volume of water lost as a result of leakages from pipes and reservoirs was estimated at 1150.079 million m3/annum at the time.
(b) The table below indicates the ten (10) WSAs that had the highest water losses:
No. |
Name of the Water Service Authority |
1. |
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality |
2. |
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality |
3. |
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality |
4. |
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality |
5. |
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality |
6. |
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality |
7. |
Emfuleni Local Municipality |
8. |
uThukela District Municipality |
9. |
Mopani District Municipality |
10. |
Mbombela Local Municipality |
(c) The WSAs are mandated by the Water Services Act, Act 108 of 1997 to prevent and act on water losses within their distribution networks. The Department of Water and Sanitation provides support to municipalities through different programmes to manage the demand and reduce water losses. The various measures being implemented to support municipalities to prevent, reduce and manage water losses include:
The Department further monitors water losses within the 8 (eight) largest water supply systems on an annual basis. The 8 large Water Supply Systems (WSS) supply water to the 8 metropolitan municipalities and other major cities. These areas serve 33.9 million people, which is equivalent to 57 % of the country’s total population. The total input volume in these areas is about 2 662 661 000 m³/a compared with national 4 046 463 000 m³/a (65 % total urban water consumption). These are areas of economic significance with the total gross value added of between 20-40%.