The Gauteng Provincial Government has established an Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Water Operations Centre to facilitate and coordinate responses aimed at stabilising water supply across the province.
The Water IGR Operations Centre brings together national government departments, Rand Water, metropolitan and local municipalities, and key provincial entities.
Its purpose is to strengthen coordination, enable real-time system monitoring, improve joint decision-making, and provide a single source of verified information on the state of the provincial water system.
“As a province, we believe that we can tackle the challenges facing our people through cooperation and collaboration, and not through finger pointing.
“We have enough water to supply our residents; what we are focusing on now is addressing the challenges that cause interruptions to supply. It is therefore incorrect to suggest that there will be a day zero in Gauteng,” Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo, said on Tuesday, in a statement.
The Operations Centre was activated on Monday at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Midrand, following a high-level IGR meeting convened by the MEC.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has tasked Mamabolo with ensuring a speedy resolution to the challenges and to prioritise the restoration of services and urgently work with and through the IGR platform to ensure that all the challenges are resolved.
“While early signs of recovery have been observed in parts of the system, supported by pressure management, reservoir throttling and strategic load-shifting, the province remains cognisant of the structural challenges facing Gauteng’s water network.
“Storage levels remain under pressure, with high consumption, ageing infrastructure, non-revenue water and rapid population growth continuing to place strain on the system,” the provincial government said.
Through the Water IGR, immediate interventions are being fast-tracked, including leak detection and repair, reservoir refurbishment, operational support to municipalities, and the strengthening of early-warning and communication systems.
Parallel work is underway to support municipalities in developing credible funding proposals to unlock medium- and long-term investment in critical water infrastructure.
The Gauteng Provincial Government affirmed that it remains firmly committed to working with all three spheres of government, together with the water sector and communities, to ensure the secure, reliable and sustainable provision of water to the people of the province. -SAnews.gov.za
