Urgent action needed to end costly water loss in SA

Jay Bhagwan

We keep stressing that South Africa is a water-stressed country and that we are reaching the limits to what the resource can offer in terms of demand and growth.

Yet it is unfortunate and unacceptable that in these times nearly 50% of all treated water supply by our municipalities is lost before it reaches paying or needy customers as a result of failing infrastructure together with poor governance, vandalism and theft.

The issue is that in some areas these losses reach levels of nearly 70%. The situation is so alarming and together with poor water use behaviour, puts our habitats and security at risk.

On October 7, we marked World Habitat Day and as we enter a critical period in Gauteng with the closure of the Lesotho Transfer tunnel for maintenance for the next six months, let us use the opportunity towards remedying this growing problem. Only a collective response will avert a disaster.

The risk and cost of the Non-Revenue Water (NRW) losses to many countries has been widely documented. While some countries have demonstrated greater resilience and have recovered from these losses, for South Africa a continued trajectory can be critical and devastating, leading to more unrest and dissent from the users and population and possibly lead to a social, economic and political conflict.

Not only is this an enormous financial concern, but elevated NRW also creates distraction, in a time of increasing scarcity and climate change, from municipalities reaching their goals of full-service coverage, at a reliable level of service and at an affordable price. In fact, high levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water institutions, as well to the quality of water itself. Every drop of water lost before it reaches the customer represents a loss of resources for the community.

Non-revenue water encompasses all water losses occurring throughout the water supply chain, from abstraction to the treatment plant to the customer’s tap. Managing and reducing NRW is essential to ensure the sustainability of water supply systems, improve financial viability, and fulfil the government’s commitment to safe and reliable water services to communities. However, neglecting the NRW problem has severe consequences.

The first and most foremost impact of non-revenue water is an increased cost to the customer and lost revenue to the water services authority.

The cost of revenue loss due to unaccounted-for water is estimated at more than R16 billion each year. This is already impacting on the financial stability of municipalities in the country, making it difficult to cover operational costs and invest in system improvements. This is also having a knock-on effect on supporting water entities (water boards, water intermediaries), who are being forced to carry these huge debts, as well as the Water Trading Account.

The provision of water is a complex and challenging activity in South Africa, which requires large sums of capital investments. In addition to this cost, the operation costs for chemical and energy to transport clean drinking water is also high.

Changes in environmental water quality (such as sewage flows without treatment) put additional burden and increase operational costs. Just the energy required for getting water to the tap can range from 30% to 60% of the operational costs of water supply. In times of energy challenges and growing tariffs water lost, results in all that energy and other operational expenses getting wasted.

The energy required in treating more than necessary water and pumping water due to accommodate for the NRW demand created by the losses results in higher energy requirements. Not only does this contribute to increased carbon emissions but under the current high costs of energy and unreliability put additional pressure on the supply of water.

The loss in revenue due to NRW and resulting financial capacity leads to both institutional failure and failure to attract investments. Good employees and experts tend to move away from failing municipalities further weakening the opportunity to turn the tide of deterioration. Low staff morale and commitment further exacerbates the situation, therefore attracting finances and investment becomes difficult over time. Lack of sufficient investment further compounds the problems.

Related to the above, change and traction to solve the problem rests with strong political will and support. Weak political support fuelled by corruption adds greater complexity and burden to deal with the NRW challenges. As highlighted, not only does it fail to attract necessary investment, but also drives competency away and fuels greater public protests. Those put in charge must take accountability or fall by the sword.

Water institutions tend to give bias to high consumers and paying customers to compensate for revenue loss.

Secondly tariffs are forcibly increased to cover for these shortfalls, the result leading to water becoming less affordable for low-income households, and this then further increases the issues of water inequity and access, pushing these households closer to or further into poverty. In our country these extremes in usage already exist ranging from 5 litres per capita per day to more than 400 litres per capita per day.

Similarly lack of investment in asset management and active leakage management also contributes to increasing operational costs and further straining budgets. The money and time spent in fixing leaks far outweighs the cost for replacing failed infrastructure. Systems with high NRW suffer more frequent service disruptions for extended periods of time.

Inadequate and intermittent water supply due to non-revenue water puts pressure on public health, as access to safe drinking water and sanitation services is critical for hygiene and disease prevention. Without reliable water infrastructure, communities may resort to using unsafe water sources or forgoing proper sanitation practices, increasing the risk of disease.

As water scarcity becomes a global concern, conserving water is increasingly crucial to environmental sustainability. The loss of treated water represents a wasteful use of a finite and essential resource. Even in areas not directly impacted by water stress or scarcity, NRW represents a preventable loss of a precious commodity.

Over-extraction of water from natural sources to compensate for NRW can have adverse ecological effects, such as reduced river flows and habitat disruption. In addition, treated water often contains levels of chlorine which, while acceptable for human consumption, can be harmful to wildlife.

Thus, tackling the NRW problem has far-reaching benefits and positive consequences, especially in the water challenged environment we live in.

Securing water for human settlements should be based on water security for future generations and strong political will, sound user behaviour and leadership, as well as dedicated investments coupled with urgent action is needed.

South Africa has been in the forefront in dealing with this challenge as a key priority as early as the late 1980s.

Let’s use this wisdom to avoid a total disaster in the near future.

* Bhagwan is an executive at the Water Research Commission

Cape Times