(Adds South Africa water ranking in fifth paragraph.)
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa needs a water plan that combats ailing infrastructure and protects it from vandalism following almost two weeks of shortages in and around Johannesburg, lawmaker Mlungisi Johnson said.
The plan must combat aging electric and water equipment and copper theft, Johnson, chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, said in an interview on Sept. 26.
“We must have a plan that must take into account all of those factors,” said Johnson, a member of the ruling African National Congress party. “Where do you have water? How do we get to move forward? How do you protect our infrastructure?”
Hundreds of thousands of residents in South Africa’s biggest city and surrounding areas went without water for almost two weeks earlier this month after warm weather increased demand and an electrical outage and cable theft prevented pumps from filling reservoirs.
South Africa is the 30th-driest nation on Earth with domestic and industrial demand outstripping supplies as early as 2025 if trends continue, government projections show.
State-run power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which provides about 95 percent of the country’s electricity, is battling a 225 billion-rand ($20 billion) funding gap and stages regular managed blackouts to prevent a shutdown of the national grid. The problems are now starting to spill over into the water system.
Cable Theft
Last week, Rand Water Services (Pty) Ltd.’s Palmiet pumping facility lost power after a cable was stolen from a nearby Eskom sub-station, hindering water supply to parts of Johannesburg, neighboring Ekurhuleni municipality and Pretoria.
“We’re in this crisis now where energy and water intertwine,” said Matsobane Masebe, plant manager at the Palmiet station south of Johannesburg. “Power is the key reason why we’re sitting in this situation.”
Leon Basson, an opposition lawmaker for the Democratic Alliance, said pumping stations such as Palmiet need to have a parallel power system that can be used in the event of an outage.
“We should get backup electricity,” he said. “If the one transformer goes out, they should be able to tap from another.”