Leaks and skills lag cost water

A SKILLS shortage is at the heart of South Africa’s water crisis as leaky pipes and poor planning make drought conditions even worse.

These are among the findings of an auditorgeneral’s report on the Department of Water and Sanitation released in November. It found that the department:

Has not conducted a skills audit for 15 years;

Has a shortage of technical capacity;

Does not have a retention policy or succession plan; and

Employs some project managers who are not registered with their professional body, “which indicates a critical skills gap”.

Asked about the role the skills shortage played in exacerbating the drought, Professor Bob Scholes of the University of the Witwatersrand said it “certainly contributed”.

Water expert Anthony Turton agreed, saying that over the past two decades there had been a phasing out of experienced engineering staff.

Leaking water pipes are also proving a challenge. In eThekwini, more than 40% of water is lost, while the Nelson Mandela Bay metro loses 37% of its water. Tshwane loses 28%, Johannesburg 22.6% and Cape Town 14.7%.

Department spokesman Sputnik Ratau admitted that this was a serious concern.

“There has been deliberate action to address the water losses through ring-fencing municipal funds towards operations and maintenance as well as the current training of artisans, plumbers and water agents through the War on Leaks programme,” he said.