Question NW4254 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation
06 December 2022 - NW4254
Ceza, Mr K to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
(1)What (a) impact has load shedding had on the proper functioning of water purification plants in the Republic and (b) is the extent of the impact on the ability to make water available to some drought-stricken areas in the Republic; (2) whether he has engaged with Eskom to ensure that critical water infrastructure is exempted from load shedding; if not, why not; if so, what are the further, relevant details?
Reply:
1 a) Severe load shedding affects the ability of Water Boards and Water Service Authorities (WSAs) to pump water into their reservoirs. This resulted in the water levels in the reservoirs being too low to gravity-feed water to high-lying areas. As a result, several high-lying areas have been without water for prolonged periods.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has not quantified the amount of production downtime across the country. However, most WSAs have a contingency plan to ensure continuity of water supply. Water Boards and WSAs experienced several electrical and mechanical failures, which also contributed to the difficulty in filling the reservoirs. Some of these failures may have been a result of damage to equipment caused by the frequent load shedding.
Using the Eskom schedule of loading shedding, Treatment Plants can be closed in phases to prevent sudden shutdown of processes at the start of loadshedding that damage infrastructure. It is also possible to store additional treated water in preparation to cater for downtime at the plant. The operating philosophy is to maintain the reservoir levels between 60-80%. This targeted range will enable the system to be resilient and respond to any challenges.
1 b) All treatment plants, rely on electricity in one way or another, and where affordable, WSAs are encouraged to ensure continuous water provision through additional storage such as reservoirs and static tanks or alternative energy supply to cater for loadshedding.
2 The Water Boards, as water service providers to various WSAs, have taken different approaches to manage the impact of ESKOM’s loadshedding on their ability to provide reliable bulk water supply services to users, including:
- Engaging with the provincial government leadership and ESKOM to negotiate and facilitate for exemption on water infrastructure from frequent load-shedding.
- Filing applications with ESKOM for exemption in terms of Eskom Regulation NRS048-9. Some applications for exemption have been successful while some have not been due to technical reasons advanced by ESKOM and some are still waiting for outcomes to the applications.
- Water Boards such as Bloem Water, Rand Water, Umngeni Water, Lepelle Water and Magalies Water are operating water infrastructure that is exempt from loadshedding and are mostly able to continue with operations during loadshedding.
- Entities such as Bloem Water, Rand Water, Umngeni Water, Lepelle Water and Magalies Water are operating water infrastructure that is exempt from loadshedding and are mostly able to continue with operations.
- Where affordable, some of the entities have procured back-up generators to continue with operations even when there is loadshedding.
Some municipalities have been able to exempt some of their water and sanitation facilities from load shedding, but this is often not possible because it would require exempting whole areas from load shedding, which in turn would result in Eskom’s load shedding requirements not being met.
---00O00---