GCRO develops Gauteng Water Security Plan

The water crisis experienced in Cape Town and areas in South Africa has raised questions around water security in the Gauteng City Region. As Gauteng’s population and economy continues to grow there is a need to continually review water security to sustain the GCR's people and prosperity. Cape Town has shown how quickly a large city can enter a crisis if it is not prepared. Gauteng Provincial Government and its municipalities have resolved to work together to ensure water security for all in Gauteng. On 23 March Premier David Makhura, hosted a Premier’s Coordinating Forum with the Mayors of Gauteng to discuss water issues across the province. This meeting resulted in the establishment of a Water War Room for Gauteng and the first task from the War Room is the development of a Water Security Plan for the GCR.

The GCRO was tasked with the development of the Gauteng Water Security Plan and has brought in the expertise of specialists writers (from Pegasys Institute) to support. The Water Plan was drafted and presented to the Water War Room on 24 July 2018. A Water Summit is expected to be held to broaden stakeholder engagement.

Water security must be a collective effort and must involve all Gauteng City-Region’s people. Our livelihoods depend on a common water system and our behaviour and actions will determine whether the water system can meet needs now and into the future.

Gauteng can only claim to be water secure when all its residents have affordable access to safe and reliable water supplies, are not at risk of flooding, and have access to safely managed and dignified sanitation services. This will not be achieved by action in the water sector alone. The GCR Water Security Plan outlines the sources of water and the systems on which it depends. It considers how the province’s waste waters are managed and the implications for the surrounding region. It then considers the performance of the key institutions that manage and supply our water and identifies some of the emerging challenges that face the GCR if it is to achieve, and then sustain, its water security.