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Water instability threatens SA businesses. Executives must integrate water management into operational planning, tracking usage to handle municipal supply and compliance risks.  

Water security is increasingly becoming a business continuity issue in South Africa, as unreliable municipal supplies, infrastructure weaknesses and concerns over water quality put pressure on companies and their operations. Robert Erasmus, managing director at Sanitech, argues that businesses can no longer treat water as a routine utility managed mainly through monthly municipal bills. He says the risks now require attention from senior executives and company boards.

The concern extends beyond keeping taps running. Erasmus says interruptions to municipal supply can affect production, while wastewater problems can create environmental compliance risks and unexpected costs for businesses.

A major challenge, he says, is that many large organisations do not have a consolidated picture of their water use across different facilities. Without reliable information on consumption, losses, water quality and discharge, companies can struggle to establish reduction targets or meet environmental, social and governance reporting requirements.

The Strategic Water Partners Network South Africa similarly describes water stewardship as an increasingly important issue for water — sector participants. Its approach focuses on conserving, restoring and managing water resources through engagement among affected stakeholders.

The National Business Initiative has also identified municipal supply problems, infrastructure and institutional capacity, rising water costs and declining water quality among systemic challenges facing South Africa’s water sector. It notes that some of these risks cannot be resolved through company-level operational measures alone.

The government is pursuing infrastructure investment as part of the wider response.

In August, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson said Infrastructure South Africa had completed 37 projects valued at about R69 billion, while 82 projects worth R502. 7 billion were under construction. He also said R131 million had been committed to municipal infrastructure support and that project preparation could help unlock about R7 billion in investment across water, sanitation, energy and waste management.

For companies, the immediate task is therefore not only to reduce consumption but to understand where their operations are exposed to supply and quality risks. That includes identifying facilities dependent on vulnerable municipal systems and connecting corporate planning with conditions at individual sites.

As infrastructure projects progress and water pressures continue to affect municipalities, businesses face a longer — term need to integrate water management into operational planning, environmental compliance and investment decisions.