'12-million litres of water lost daily to illegal use'

Joburg Water says it is losing 12 million litres of water daily due to illegal connections made by informal settlement residents in some parts of the south of Johannesburg.

Speaking during a media tour at the Orange Farm reservoir yesterday, Joburg Water’s Deep South regional manager, Kagiso Manganye said the water loss was tied to about 40,000 households in 44 informal settlements that were tapping into the municipal supply without authorisation.

“There are quite a number of informal settlements that we’ve identified with illegal connections to our system. The total households involved is estimated to be around 40,000. From those illegal connections, we’re losing about 12 million litres of water per day. That’s a substantial loss.”

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Manganye emphasised that Joburg Water’s daily allocation of 1,500 megalitres from Rand Water is already stretched, and illegal connections were adding to the strain. “We provide informal settlements with about 1.4 million litres of water daily through water tanks, but the illegal connections far exceed this supply,” he said.

The tour, organised by the water utility,  aims to provide insights into the challenges of managing the water supply.

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