Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg, the capital of Gauteng Province, is one of the world’s 50 largest metropolitan areas with a population of nearly 14 million. Johannesburg primarily sources its water from the Vaal Dam and imports from neighboring Lesotho via the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) (Brittain, 2020). In 2002, the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council introduced the iGoli 2002 model to create a new institutional design to enhance public services’ efficiency (Smith, 2006). This approach allowed the city to increase water and sanitation service provision efficiency without privatizing the utility (or further endangering vulnerable populations) (Smith, 2006).

Johannesburg Water (JW), which operates as a corporatized public water utility, provides 1.6 billion liters of potable water daily, procured from Rand Water. JW also treats 926 million liters of sewage per day at its 6 wastewater treatment plants, including 2 biogas-to-energy plants, where methane gas is converted to energy (Johannesburg Water, n.d.). Presently, nearly 98% of Johannesburg—including its informal settlements—has access to JW’s formal water supply (JW, 2018).

Like many other megacities, Johannesburg grapples with balancing equitable service provision to low-income and informal communities with adequate cost-recovery and water loss mitigation.