You Use Too Much Water

Rand Water: CEO Claims There's No Shortage, But South Africans Must Cut Consumption

- Enkosi Selane

Lack of water supply is not causing shortages in Gauteng; it's the greedy residents who are using too much of the resource, according to the chief executive officer of Rand Water, Sipho Mosai.

"You don't have a water production problem, you don't have a water supply problem, you have a problem of high water consumption," he told the parliamentary portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs on Tuesday.

South Africans consume an average of 218l per person daily, significantly higher than the global average of 173l.

The presentation highlighted Gauteng's consumption at 279l per person daily, while the Western Cape demonstrates better water management at 164l per person.

Mosai said this data suggested that effective conservation is achievable in South Africa.

Another factor causing water shortages and which proved to be a major concern raised during the meeting was the alarming rate of non-revenue water in the system.