The 6.8% increase in water and sewer charges coming into effect on July 1 is also meant to highlight that water is a scarce resource and that City of Johannesburg (CoJ) needs to use water resources wisely, water utility Johannesburg Water senior manager Thokozani Tshabalala said on June 24.

The increase is part of the CoJ's 2021/22 financial year approved tariff changes. Tshabalala spoke during a webinar hosted by the CoJ and its utility entities to detail tariff structures.

"What we had to consider in setting the rates, is there must be an appreciation that water is a scarce resource, and higher tariffs, as water use increases, are meant to encourage people to save this precious resource," he said.

He added that Johannesburg Water also considered cost reflectiveness and financial sustainability in setting the tariffs.

The water utility aimed to ensure there were sufficient funds to replace infrastructure progressively, as it did not have the resources to replace all necessary infrastructure at once.

Bulk water prices from Rand Water increased by 5.8% during the current financial year.

"We understand the tough economic conditions experiences by citizens and, with the increase in input costs, we could not opt for a lower increment. Johannesburg Water has to stretch resources further by providing additional water to vulnerable communities and this created constraints that, even after consideration of the economic impact, required an increase in water tariffs."

However, the utility's tariff structure continued to focus on relief for vulnerable residents, and vulnerable households will continue to receive 15 kℓ a month without charge, as well as receiving an exemption on sewer charges, he said.

Johannesburg Water increased services to informal townships, given the current pandemic conditions.

Further, as an addition to post-paid water meters, the utility was piloting prepaid meters for water in one township. Its intention is to roll out prepaid meters to all residents, he said.