JOHANNESBURG-EKURHULENI: Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Johannesburg-Ekurhuleni (South Africa’s largest metropolis) is good by comparison with most cities in sub-Saharan Africa, in line with South Africa’s relatively high per-capita GNP: most people have access to a hygienic toilet, and most sewage is treated before discharge to the environment in a controlled manner. However, a disadvantaged minority of the city’s population (about 10%, possibly more) still lacks adequate sanitation; these are mostly black Africans living in low-income townships and informal settlements. This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Johannesburg-Ekurhuleni.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city.
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Johannesburg-Ekurhuleni is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 7.4 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). It is a continuous metropolis, but is governed by two distinct municipal governments, City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It is located on the Highveld plateau at about 1800 m above sea level, on either side of a ridge (Witwatersrand); some parts are hilly, others flatter. It is not located close to any major river, though streams running through the city discharge to the Orange watershed (to the south) and the Limpopo watershed (to the north). Climate is subtropical highland (Köppen classification Cwb). Flooding is not a major problem. Industrial activity is diverse and includes steel and cement production. There is little agricultural activity within the metropolitan area (Rogerson 2004). A significant minority of the population, mostly black Africans, live in low-income townships including informal settlements.
Water resources and supply: overview
Water for Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni comes mainly from the Vaal River System; for detailed information see each municipality’s Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005, EMM 2006). According to government statistics for 2007 (SSA 2007), about 89% of households have in-plot access to the piped water supply. Detailed figures for Johannesburg are as follows: in-plot piped (indoors or yard) 92%, community piped 7%, no access to piped supply 2%. Detailed figures for Ekurhuleni are as follows: in-plot piped (indoors or yard) 86%, community piped 9%, no access to piped supply 1%. Additional information on water supply, including standard water utility performance indicators, is given in each municipality’s Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005, EMM 2006).
Sanitation access
According to government statistics for 2007 (SSA 2007), about 85% of households are connected to sewerage, while only about 9% of households (6% in Johannesburg, 12% in Ekurhuleni) have unimproved sanitation on the JMP definition, mostly unimproved pit latrines. Detailed figures for Johannesburg are as follows: flush toilet to sewerage 87%, flush toilet to septic tank 3%, ventilated pit latrine 2%, unimproved pit latrine 3%, dry toilet 2%, bucket latrine or plastic bag or no toilet 3%. Detailed figures for Ekurhuleni are as follows: sewerage 83%, flush toilet to septic tank 2%, ventilated pit latrine 2%, unimproved pit latrine 10%, dry toilet 1%, bucket latrine or plastic bag or no toilet 3%. Very detailed additional information on sanitation status and sanitation planning is given in each municipality’s Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005, EMM 2006).
Sewerage system
Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni have a very extensive conventional sewerage systems: for details, see each municipality’s Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005, EMM 2006). The City of Johannesburg Water Services Development Plan notes significant issues with infrastructure deterioration and lack of funds to finance major rehabilitation. The City of Johannesburg Water Directorate has considered the use of settled sewerage (= solids-free sewerage, “shallow sewerage”) in low-income districts (COJ 2005), but this option appears to have been shelved largely because of community opposition.
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
Neither of the Water Services Development Plans (COJ 2005, EMM 2006) mentions desludging of onsite facilities. Presumably private or municipal tanker services exist for desludging, and presumably most sludge is transported to wastewater treatment plants: however, we have no information allowing us to confirm this.
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni have very extensive facilities for sewage treatment: for details, see each municipality’s Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005, EMM 2006).
Sanitation in low-income districts
The City of Johannesburg Water Services Development Plan (COJ 2005) includes both detailed mapping of informal settlements and very detailed specific policy provision for these settlements. Furthermore, Johannesburg Water has reportedly produced a specific Master Plan for Provision of Water and Sanitation Services to Informal Settlements (COJ 2005). About 25% of households in the metropolitan area are classified as informal (COJ 2005); this corresponds to about 1 million people located in about 109 informal stettlement areas. Some of these settlements are quasi-formalised, with some service provision (typically communal standpipes and chemical toilets). Maps and tabulated details of settlement size and locations are given in COJ (2005); particularly important are Ennerdale/Orange Farm (about 65,000 households), Doornkop/Soweto (about 33, 000 settlements), and Alexandra (about 27,000 households). Johannesburg’s Water Directorate is openly self-critical about sanitation deficits in low-income districts, and has made a serious commitment to improve water and sanitation in informal settlements; as at May 2010, their website (see below) states ”New data reveal that water and sanitation service backlogs in informal settlements are far greater than previously believed. An accelerated programme is needed to ensure the City meets its commitment to eradicate all water backlogs by 2008 and sanitation backlogs by 2010, in line with national objectives”. The current Ekurhuleni Municipality Water Services Development Plan does not include detailed mapping of informal settlements, but does include explicit consideration of policy for these settlements.
Responsibility
The asset holder and supplier of bulk water is Rand Water. Within Johannesburg, the principal asset holder and provider of water and sanitation services is Johannesburg Water, a quasi-private company of which the City of Johannesburg is the sole shareholder. Within Ekurhuleni, the principal asset holder and provider of water supply services is Rand Water, while the principal asset holder and operator for sewerage and wastewater treatment is the East Rand Water Care Company. In Johannesburg, institutional responsibility for water and sanitation lies primarily with the Water Directorate (a subdivision of the Infrastructure and Services Department of the City of Johannesburg). In Ekurhuleni, institutional responsibility for water and sanitation appears to lie with the Water Division (a subdivision of the Infrastructure Services Department of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality). Extensive details of institutional responsibilities are provided in each municipality’s draft Water Services Development Plans (COJ 2005, EMM 2006). See also Smith (2006), and the very useful Wikipedia article “Water supply and sanitation in South Africa”.
Sanitation masterplan?
Both City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Muncipality have produced detailed draft Water Services Development Plans. Both plans show clearly integrated consideration of sewerage and onsite sanitation, and detailed and specific policy provision for informal settlements. The national government’s Department of Water Affairs maintains a webpage monitoring the progress of each municipality in preparing the Water Services Development Plan (http://www.dwaf.gov.za/dir_ws/WSDP/default.asp).
Sanitation financing
In Johannesburg, water and sanitation services are reportedly (COJ 2005) provided free to households with LOS 1 and LOS 2 (LOS = level of service); LOS 1 is communal standpipe plus in-plot VIP latrine, as nominally provided to informal settlements; LOS 2 is in-plot outside standpipe plus pour-flush toilet connected to sewer, as nominally provided for “formalized informal” settlements and low-cost housing developments. Households with higher levels of service (i.e. pressurized metered in-house water supply and sewered toilet) are charged a sewer tariff as part of the water bill; this tariff is based on plot size. It is possible that this system may change (or have changed) to a tariff based on water usage (COJ 2005).
Major investments and donor interventions
South Africa, classified by the World Bank as an upper middle income country, receives relatively little funding from international donors.
Sources and further reading
Water Directorate, Infrastructure and Services Department, City of Johannesburg: http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/695/9/1/6/
Johanessburg Water: http://www.johannesburgwater.co.za/
References
Rogerson CM (2004) Urban agriculture in South Africa: scope, issues and potential. GeoJournal 30(1): 21-28. http://www.springerlink.com/content/n047p1756n28877t/
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
COJ [City of Johannesburg] (2005) City of Johannesburg Water Services Development Plan. http://www.dwaf.gov.za/dir_ws/WSDP/default.asp?nStn=availdocs&Prov=GT&ICode=JHB&docType=1&curYear=8
EMM [Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality] (2006) Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Water Services Development Plan. http://www.ekurhuleni.com/content/view/760/435/
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
Smith L (2006) Neither public nor private: unpacking the Johanessburg Water Corporatization Model. UN Research Institute for Social Development, Programme Paper Number 27. http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/ab82a6805797760f80256b4f005da1ab/79f48a7bdd5ca384c12571d100257095/$FILE/LaSmth.pdf
SSA [Statistics South Africa] (2007) Community Survey 2007 - Household Services data. http://www.statssa.gov.za/
Other City Profiles
4) ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) 3
7) BRAZZAVILLE (Republic of Congo) 3
12) DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) 3
14) DURBAN THEKWINI (South Africa) 3
18) JOHANNESBURG-EKURHULENI (South Africa) 3
23) KINSHASA (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
27) LUBUMBASHI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
31) MBUJI-MAYI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
35) OUGADOUGOU (Burkina Faso) 3
36) PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa) 3
