Recently the minister of water and sanitation published a Revised Pricing Strategy for Raw Water Use Charges. The revised pricing strategy will replace the existing 2007 strategy in 2026 when water management institutions will have to begin implementing it.
The broad overall objective of the pricing strategy is to promote effective and efficient management of water to support equitable and sustainable economic growth and social development in line with the overarching goals of the 2023 National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS).
The NWRS estimates that South Africa will have a water deficit of 1,6 billion to 2,7 billion cubic metres of water (roughly 17%) by 2030. According to a recent NoDrop Benchmarking report (May 2023) by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), non-revenue (i.e. unpaid for) water is estimated to account for 47,4% of water that enters the water supply system. The report also indicates that avoidable water losses are estimated to be 40,8% of water entering the supply system.
The revised pricing strategy specifically records that the price of water should reflect its scarcity value in order to promote its conservation and to ensure that some water is redirected for optimal economic benefits while not harming social benefits.
Having regard to the DWS’s own figures with respect to unpaid for and wasted water, it is clear a lot needs to be done to promote water use efficiency in South Africa, especially if such users who do pay for water will largely be expected to foot the bill for those who do not (or cannot) do so.
