Johannesburg Water Cuts Highlight Importance of Environmental Scanning

Just as residents and businesses in Johannesburg were starting to cope with frequent rolling blackouts, October has brought new problems: the announcement of Stage Two water cuts.

These water shortages were not the result of a dry and dusty city awaiting its first thunderstorm, but a severe knock-on effect of loadshedding and an unsurprising failure of those in charge when it comes to maintaining key water infrastructure in the city.

Loadshedding is adversely affecting water plants and the ability to pump effectively and this in turn leads to water cuts and even sewage overflows. The upshot is this can have a negative impact on both public health and the broader environment.

And so, while loadshedding has been in the spotlight, the risk of water shortages has crept up on us insidiously and its effects will inevitably be more serious and longer lasting. When water infrastructure fails it impacts everything from suburbs to industrial clusters and creates systemic consequences across the metropole.

Rand Water and other regional and provincial suppliers’ primary water infrastructure was built anywhere between 50 and 100 years ago. As the populations in Johannesburg and other metropolitan areas has steadily increased, utilisation has also increased at a much higher rate than capacity and infrastructure development and maintenance. It is not difficult to understand why systems are under immense strain. Ageing infrastructure needs regular refurbishment, but economic priorities tend to favour rapid new development, further exacerbating the issue. If maintenance programs are not followed, the damage to existing capacity accelerates.

So how can we prepare for the worst from a risk management perspective? This is where environmental scanning comes into play. Environmental scans can be defined as the careful and comprehensive evaluation of an organisation's internal and external risk environment. This is done to assess any potential issues and opportunities to incorporate into the organisation’s future planning. The frequency of environmental scanning depends entirely on the organisation, but South African organisations are facing unique extenuating circumstances and should consider more frequent and comprehensive scans.

Organisations should be preparing for the very real risk of more frequent water cuts if nothing is done to mitigate crumbling infrastructure.
In addition, climate variations have a detrimental impact on both bulk supply and borehole extraction rights.

We tend to underestimate how essential water is for operations and value chain components like effluent facilities. The key is to prepare for the worst and think of the best solutions for every outcome before it is too late.