The urgency of proactive infrastructure management: lessons from Johannesburg's bulk water failure

The disruption of water supplies in numerous Johannesburg suburbs, following significant repair to the Rand Water bulk pipeline, offers a stark illustration of the risks associated with the failure of key infrastructure.

This episode says Volker von Widdern Risk Principal at Riskonet Africa has necessitated a critical examination of risk management practices and their potential for transforming the country’s approach to infrastructure management.

Notes Von Widdern: “A scant month's notice preceded this major repair. Left with no alternatives, resilient residents adjusted their lives and resource usage in response to the impending water scarcity. This incident, symptomatic of a broader 'best endeavours' approach to managing bulk infrastructure, reveals the precarious edge on which our society teeters, where responsible parties are often shackled by budget and resource constraints.”

He says thankfully, the pipeline did not suffer a catastrophic leak before the planned repair. Had it done so, many parts of Gauteng would have been thrown into chaos, with even less notice, and a longer repair project might have been necessitated.

“From a risk management perspective, this potential scenario starkly demonstrates the consequences of operating beyond standard asset utilisation parameters and highlights the need for an optimised and proactive infrastructure management plan.”

Von Widdern says an alternative scenario should also be considered. “What if we lived in an environment where service delivery to communities stipulated that the maximum disruption to bulk water supplies should not exceed 12 hours? To uphold such a standard—which is far from unreasonable—the water utility would be compelled to constantly monitor its infrastructure, ensuring potential repairs, and known upgrades could be implemented within the maximum outage limitation.”

Adhering to this standard he says would yield myriad benefits, including advanced monitoring of bulk water supplies, up-to-date capacity and utilization management, detailed strategies for deploying alternative capacity when certain pipes or pump stations are out of service, and strategies to limit the impact of a complete shutdown of major bulk supply. This could involve, for example, partial rerouting of water supplies through temporary pipelines while underground work is ongoing.

Von Widdern says risk management and operational performance are two sides of the same coin. Both are gauged against set standards—the former via a blend of qualitative and risk tolerance metrics, and the latter through measures of efficiency, output, and financial parameters. When risk management fails to guide decision-making, operational performance becomes inconsistent, costly, and risks failing to meet strategic goals.

This water supply disruption he believes as a potent reminder that a proactive approach to managing infrastructure is not just beneficial, but vital. “As we move forward, we must reevaluate how we manage risk, and use it to inform our operational strategies. After all, the long-term sustainability and resilience of our cities may depend on it.”