SA's water crisis | Rand Water struggling to meet Gauteng demand

JOHANNESBURG - As it stands right now, Rand Water has enough supply to meet demand. But only just.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu made the shocking revelation that Gauteng metros may run out of water.

READ: SA's water crisis | Rand Water can't meet Gauteng demand

But Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai says while they can meet demand right now, their network is under increasing pressure.

And while factors like population growth and migration have been factored into their equation, the electricity crisis makes the situation difficult to predict.

READ: SA's water crisis | Water department requests blackouts exemption

"I think on average the demand for water, factoring in as you say issues of migration and population growth, year-on-year we're seeing volume increase of about 2 percent which effectively is not a big challenge to meet," Mosai said.

"If we have a huge demand for water that is more than our peak supply which is about 5,000-million litres of water per day and it lasts for a long time, it becomes difficult to refill the reservoirs.

"If we don't fill the reservoirs timeously and to the prompt, then it creates a problem of low head and if you have low head some areas in Gauteng, as you may have indicated, do struggle to get water timeously."