These disruptions are becoming part of a worrying pattern. As infrastructure continues to deteriorate, the cost of maintenance and upgrades will rise, and so too will water tariffs. Water will become expensive, and cost-cutting measures even more so. Businesses that act now to improve their efficiency and water security will be far better positioned than those left scrambling when the price and pressure hit the roof.
Though the maintenance of public water infrastructure is the responsibility of government and municipalities, the private sector has a critical role to play.
Organisations should be asking important operational questions: Are we using water as efficiently as possible? Are we separating greywater from clean water and reusing it where appropriate? Are our systems and processes optimised to reduce water waste? What would happen to our operations if the municipality could not deliver water tomorrow?
In some cases, businesses may need to invest in off-grid solutions with their own water sources or on-site treatment facilities. While these measures will not deliver immediate cost savings, it is more important to gain long-term protection against water shortages, supply interruptions, or sudden tariff increases. This is less about short-term gain and more about ensuring continuity and resilience to better face an increasingly uncertain future.
There is a valuable lesson that must be taken from SA’s energy crisis. When load shedding intensified, solar and backup power solutions became hot commodities almost overnight. The demand drove up prices and created bottlenecks, leaving many scrambling. We are headed for the same scenario with water. If businesses wait until water is no longer reliably available or until the cost becomes prohibitively high, it will be too late to react cost effectively. By then, infrastructure will be more expensive, competition for resources will increase, and the risks to operations will be far greater.
Businesses should be proactively investing in water-efficient technologies, implementing reuse systems, and exploring alternative water sources. Not because water is expensive today, but because the cost of inaction will be far greater tomorrow. While cheap water might feel like a benefit, it is masking a much deeper problem. If we continue to treat it as an unlimited resource, we are setting ourselves up for a future defined by scarcity, disruption, and rising costs. The private sector has the power and the responsibility to act now – because when the water runs dry, it won’t just be a utility issue; it will move from business disruption to human crisis.
– Erasmus is managing director at Sanitech