RAND WATER: For Rand Water, Every Drop Is Vital

While Africa can be justifiably said to contribute the least of any continent to global climate change, producing an average of just over one metric ton of carbon dioxide per person each year, it is also arguably the one most vulnerable to its impacts.

For South Africa arguably the most notable consequence of this has been water scarcity, with certain parts of the country experiencing severe droughts since 2015. The crisis peaked during mid-2017 to mid-2018 where levels hovered between 15 to 30% of total dam capacity, and Cape Town’s looming ‘Day Zero’ became the focus for South Africa’s water crisis. In response, significant restrictions were implemented and combined with strong rains in June to allow dam levels to increase to close to 70%.

These were unique circumstances, however the root causes of its water problems were not: high demand coupled with inadequate supply brought about this severe water shortage and Cape Town’s situation continues to serve as a warning to the country as a whole with many further regions and cities in danger of facing their own Day Zero.

SECURING SUPPLY

South Africa relies on its rainwater, levels of which are infamously unpredictable, unevenly distributed and decreasing as a result of global warming. In addition, South Africa has a wider variety of climates than most other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with lower average temperatures than other countries within this range of latitude, like Australia, because much of its interior sits at a higher elevation.

Amid this demanding landscape, at the heart of securing supply is Rand Water, Africa’s largest water utility and one of the biggest in the world. “Water is life,” the company puts simply. “For millions for years life on earth has been dependant on water for survival. Our vision is to be a provider of sustainable, universally competitive water and sanitation solutions for Africa.

“We provide bulk potable water to more than 11 million people in Gauteng, parts of Mpumalanga, the Free State and North West,” it continues, “an area that stretches over 18,000 km².”

Rand Water has been fulfilling this brief since beginning full operations in 1905, established at the turn of the century in Johannesburg where its head office remains today. In the intervening more than century its distribution network has expanded to now include over 3,056 km of large diameter pipeline, feeding 58 strategically located service reservoirs, and customers numbering metropolitan municipalities, local municipalities, mines and industries. It supplies, on average, nearly four million litres of water to these customers each day.

“Rand Water’s major challenge to date has been to augment its water sources to meet the growing demand,” Rand Water says; and for Gauteng province, its primary supply area, burgeoning demand is being felt particularly keenly as a result of a rapidly growing population, with domestic supply the sector experiencing the highest level of demand. This growth is currently at a rate of some 3% each year, and supply is fixed, meaning that consumption will have to decrease by the same amount each year if the region is to stay water secure.

At around 300 litres per day consumption per person in the region is well above global averages, and there is therefore much scope achieve reductions, but also critical to keeping water flowing have been a succession of major schemes undertaken by Rand Water. Among the most important have been the Zwartkopjes, Vereeniging and Zuikerbosch pumping stations, the latter two of which draw raw water from the Vaal River System and then abstract, purify and pump 98% of the total water supplied through the massive Rand Water Network. 

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), meanwhile, commenced in 1998 and is an ongoing, multi-phased effort to provide water to the Gauteng region. Africa’s largest water transfer scheme, it comprises an intricate system of several large dams and tunnels throughout Lesotho and delivers water to the Vaal River System, from which Gauteng draws its supply.

Perhaps still its crowning achievement, in 1938 Rand Water completed the construction of the superstructure of the Vaal Dam, lying at the confluence of the Vaal and Wilge rivers with a vast catchment spanning 38,500 km², including towns such as Bethlehem, Frankfort, Standerton and Ermelo.

DAMS BRIM FULL

“The Vaal Dam is South Africa’s most hard-working dam,” Rand Water asserts, “with a total storage capacity of 350 million cubic metres, a surface area of 39 km² and an average depth of 27 metres.

“Even though the Vaal Dam is only the fourth largest dam in South Africa in terms of storage capacity, it is without a doubt the most important dam in view of its role as the primary supplier of water to the economic heartland of South Africa.”

Now more than 80 years into its operational life, transfer schemes have also been built to move water from other catchments to the Vaal Dam in order to meet the demands of the growing Witwatersrand, supplying water to around 46% of the country’s economy and 33% of the population as part of the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).

The Vaal Dam is now being tasked with arguably working harder than ever before, as sustained rainfall sees it sitting full to the brim, and indeed breaching 100% storage, for the second time this year. The sight of a full dam of usable water clearly spells relief in the short-term, but can have the adverse effect of leading people to think that this signifies a supply which is now secure, a problem solved and that water can be used henceforth with impunity.

In fact, Rand Water cautions, this could not be further from the truth, and at such times water conservation should be a bigger priority than ever: “the key to maintaining our water resources in a good state is effective management.” It is with this in mind that its Water Wise arm sets out to increase awareness of the need to value water and to use it wisely and efficiently at all times, whether the dams be drenched or parched.

“South Africa is a water stressed country, and the water resources are under tremendous pressure from a growing population, ongoing development, pollution, wetland destruction, alien invasive plants and the effects of global warming,” Water Wise summates. “Despite plans to increase storage capacity through the building of new dams or water transfer schemes, predictions are that the demand for water will outstrip supply by 2025.

“The only answer to this dilemma lies in changing people’s attitude and thus their behaviour to use water more wisely,” it concludes, characteristically wisely, as this will remain central to Rand Water’s ability to prevent its own Day Zero: visionary campaigns like Water Wise combined with its tireless day-to-day work to ensure careful, responsible use of this precious resource and an uninterrupted flow whatever the weather.