KwaZulu-Natal is losing close to R4 billion annually in water revenue that cannot be accounted for by various municipalities.
The shocking revelations emerged during the sitting of the provincial water summit convened in Durban on Wednesday. The summit was held under the theme “Turning the tide: A provincial commitment to water security”.
Topping the list of the severely affected municipalities is eThekwini, the only metro in the province which accounts for R2bn worth of water loss annually.
“This province has a very serious problem which gets referred to every now and then but it is never unpacked. It is called non-revenue water. It’s very important that we pay more attention to it. This is the water that municipalities pay for but never receive any revenue for,” explained Scelo Duma, the head of department in the provincial department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
Duma was providing a diagnostic overview of the water situation in the province.
At the heart of the non-revenue water crisis is the ageing infrastructure, pipe bursts, water leaks, poor billing system and technical staff shortages. This includes water losses categorised as free water supplied to poor and predominantly rural communities.
UMkhanyakude district municipality, in the northern part of the province, which also serves as a water service authority, is among the municipalities severely affected by non-revenue water.
More than 92% of water service authorities in the province fails to meet the national 30% acceptable water loss threshold. The province has 14 water service authorities. Out of these, 13 of the municipalities were failing to deliver safe and reliable water. Only one water service authority was performing well while others had recorded average to poor performance.
KZN Premier Thami Ntuli said his government had given itself 90 days to come up with concrete solutions to sort out water woes in their communities.
“Non-revenue water is a serious problem. This means that the water is pumped into reservoirs but nothing comes out of it in terms of revenue. KZN faces a water emergency. There are still families collecting water from rivers because municipal taps have simply run dry. Businesses providing much-needed employment are closing because they can’t receive a reliable supply of water,” Ntuli said.
The event brought together mayors, municipal managers and various experts in the water sector aimed at coming up with concrete solutions to tackle water challenges.
The national department of water and sanitation said it had budgeted in excess of R55bn over the next five years to improve water provision in KZN.