Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) Chief Executive Officer, Percy Sechemane, has raised concern over the high levels of water losses in South Africa, particularly at municipal level.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the department of Water and Sanitation’s oversight visit to Lesotho to monitor progress on Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), Sechemane said while major infrastructure projects, such as the LHWP are critical, the country must also address inefficiencies within existing systems to avoid unnecessary costs.
“We are losing too much water in South Africa at municipal level, and ordinary citizens end up paying higher tariffs because the municipalities add on and then we just bail.
“If we were to bring those efficiencies wherein every drop we can actually account for, then we don’t need to be doing all these other phases, and because the infrastructure is there already, then the cost of water in terms of tariffs would not be escalating as it does,” Sechemane said.
He noted that while it is nice to come and look at the project like LHWP and highlight the amount of money spent on them, it would be nice not to come and build another dam on the other side.
According to Sechemane, much of the required infrastructure is already in place in South Africa, and that proper maintenance could significantly reduce water losses and help stabilise water tariffs.
“What we need to do is ask how do we look at those losses and find out what are we doing [to manage] them. What is a use of building those infrastructure when the water gets lost once it reaches South Africa and the tariffs are going up. We need to look at what we already have, and if you maintain [and optimise] what we already have, we don’t have to spend more money on operating additional assets,” Sechemane said.
Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority is a state-owned entity charged with financing and implementing bulk raw water infrastructure projects. It is an agency of the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), which is responsible for the country’s water resources in respect of usage, equitable allocation and distribution.
TCTA assists the government in its pursuit of water security for South Africa and in realising its constitutional obligation of ensuring universal access to this essential resource for all citizens. – SAnews.gov.za
