eThekwini Municipality is increasing spending on measures to reduce water losses, with hundreds of millions of rands allocated for leak repairs, pipe replacement, leak detection, and additional plumbing staff. The municipality has allocated R565 million for specialised leak repairs, R102 million for proactive leak detection, and R100 million for pipe replacement. A further R124 million has been allocated to recruit 70 of the 202 additional plumbers required to improve the response time for isolating burst pipes to within four hours.
The measures form part of the Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy adopted by Council in 2024, which aims to reduce non-revenue water by 5% annually, with a long-term target of 25% or below. Mayor Cyril Xaba said achieving this target requires the City to implement a range of decisive measures, including pipe replacement, responding to water leaks within 24 hours, replacing old household and industrial water meters, and installing bulk meters at water tanker filling points, reservoirs, and standpipes.
The municipality has also allocated R70 million for new water meters, with the programme targeting the replacement of 40,000 meters a year that are more than 15 years old. By the end of June, 150,000 flow restrictors had been installed in high-pressure zones. The city has also increased the capacity of its meter-reading teams, reducing the proportion of estimated water meters to 6%.
eThekwini Municipality has also invested in its water tanker service, insourcing the operation and investing about R345 million in an internal fleet of 318 tankers, with further expansion planned before the end of the year. The municipality has also allocated R54 million to automate reservoir outlets and R5 million for bulk meters in rural areas.
Mayor Cyril Xaba expressed confidence that the measures will make a significant contribution towards reducing non-revenue water and improving the reliability and efficiency of water and sanitation services. The Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy aims to address the challenges facing the city's water and sanitation infrastructure.
The allocation of funds for water loss reduction measures is part of eThekwini Municipality's efforts to improve its water and sanitation services. The municipality has been facing challenges with water leaks and burst pipes, which have resulted in significant water losses.
The implementation of the Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy is expected to have a positive impact on the city's water and sanitation infrastructure. The strategy's success will depend on the effective implementation of the measures outlined, including pipe replacement, leak detection, and the recruitment of additional plumbers.
Key points
- eThekwini Municipality has allocated R565 million for specialised leak repairs and R102 million for proactive leak detection as part of its efforts to reduce water losses.
- The municipality aims to reduce non-revenue water by 5% annually, with a long-term target of 25% or below, as outlined in the Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy adopted by Council in 2024.
- eThekwini Municipality has invested about R345 million in an internal fleet of 318 water tankers, with further expansion planned before the end of the year.
