Cape Town - The increased incidence of pipe bursts and leaks in the Cape and South Africa was highlighted at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, this week, where Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu called for private sector collaborations to address water security and wastewater treatment.
This comes after numerous calls from civic groups, residents and experts for the government to properly address the country’s ageing water infrastructure.
During a panel discussion on investment in water infrastructure, particularly in wastewater, Mchunu said: “The demand for water and sanitation infrastructure development and refurbishment in South Africa has been increasing due to both population and economic growth. We also envisage that by the year 2030, there will be a 17% deficit in availability of water.”
He said the current rate of infrastructure development had to increase to sustain and support growth in the country, and this need was further punctuated by the water crisis facing Nelson Mandela Bay and other areas.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell, agreed and said water infrastructure was a huge challenge, and with population growth, urbanisation and climate change, the challenges were only going to increase.
Stellenbosch University health systems and public health senior lecturer, Jo Barnes, said: “South African infrastructure has been dreadfully neglected for many decades and we are now paying the price. This ‘price’ includes harmful effects on health, community life, the environment and the economy.”
Bredell said: “The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), in its latest Green Drop Report that looks at the state of wastewater infrastructure, calculated that Western Cape municipalities need a collective amount of R720 million to return old and dysfunctional wastewater plants to their original design. The bulk of the budget is needed for restoration of mechanical equipment.
“As such, private investment is absolutely needed, and public private partnerships are to be supported,” Bredell said.
The DWS thus established a Water Partnership Office with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to facilitate partnerships and manage joint accounts for specific funding for projects.
However, Bredell added that the country should be careful as the private sector was profit driven, and the government should not transfer its obligation to ensure access to safe water as a basic human right, especially to the vulnerable members of society.