The Water Research Commission says there’s an urgent need to equip young engineers with skills that would enable them to develop innovative solutions in the water sector. This call comes as water problems persist in areas such as Johannesburg.

The commission’s acting group executive, Doctor Valerie Naidoo, points to South Africa’s growing population and ageing infrastructure as major factors impacting municipalities’ ability to successfully service their communities with water. She emphasizes that addressing water issues requires more than just infrastructure upgrades.

“We need to start to take not just an infrastructure approach to water but how do we engage with every household, every community, how do we change behaviours to say how do we use water less, how do I use it effectively and efficiently in my household?” Naidoo stated. “How are businesses enabled through incentives and bylaws to take on new innovation to use less water?”

Cultivating a new generation of creative problem-solvers in the water engineering field is seen as crucial for tackling these multifaceted challenges.

Meanwhile, the Water and Sanitation Department says the mounting water crisis in Johannesburg has prompted the City to urgently table a plan to deal with the problems. Spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi explained that Minister Senzo Mchunu “acknowledged efforts being made by the city’s water entity to deal with infrastructure backlogs and the various interventions they are implementing to deal with the current recurring water outages.”

Mogotsi added the department is participating in “daily meetings together with Rand Water and the other two metros to regularly assess” the situation in Johannesburg.