RAND WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2023

Sustainable Energy Supply Eskom is our main supplier of electricity, and due to the ongoing load shedding, this affects its ability to supply Rand Water with reliable and quality electrical supply as and when we require it. This results in failure to supply potable water and meet customers’ demands, resulting in reputational damage. Rand Water is working on the use of renewable energy sources for water treatment and supply. It has identified a suitable site for construction of Hydropower units and installation of Solar Photovoltaic panels across all sites to acquire clean energy from Rand Water pipelines and harvest solar energy. High Water Demand The water supply to customers remained constant and very high, at an average of 4 520 Mℓ/d for the 2022/23 Financial Year. This average was considerably higher than the Project 1600 target volumes, which were determined scientifically using Rand Water’s Water Use Efficiency Model and was allocated and communicated to Rand Water customers since 2017. The Project 1600 was aimed for Rand Water customers to improve their water use efficiency, to achieve the abstraction limit of 1 600 million cubic metres per annum. The municipal sector exceeded their Project 1600 targets by 13% in the Financial Year under review. It should be noted that improving the water use efficiency in the municipal sector will contribute greatly to ensuring sustainability in the water supply from Rand Water. Encroachment over Pipelines, Servitudes, and Properties Rand Water’s servitudes comprise a network of more than 3 500km pipelines. In recent years, informal settlement communities have and continue to encroach on or use Rand Water’s land and pipeline servitudes for accommodation. The encroachment on pipeline servitudes has the potential to hamper Rand Water’s ability to undertake vital maintenance on its underground infrastructure. The encroachment of Rand Water’s pipeline, servitudes and properties brings with it a number of challenges and risks such as: Loss of water pressure • Increased water demands • Water supply interruptions • Civil claims • Removal time/ cost • Continuous stakeholder engagement. We are running a campaign on Encroachment to educate communities and property developers about the impact of encroaching on Rand Water servitudes. The campaign aims to draw attention to the dangers of encroachment and how to identify a Rand Water pipeline servitude. We have put in place the following to control the challenge: • Security patrols; weekly pipeline patrols are conducted. • Land and Rights Manual has been developed, that outlines the processes to be followed in all Land and Right matters. • Formal encroachments are litigated against. Climate Change Threat Rand Water regards climate change as one of the greatest threats to its ability to provide sustainable, uninterrupted water of world class potable water at an affordable cost to its customers. In that light, in response to climate change challenges, we have implemented projects to address the threat (see Natural Capital section for details) by reducing our carbon footprint. We will also adapt measures to mitigate the impact of climate change by implementing programmes that explore new and alternative methods to ensure business continuity in the event of the raw water scarcity.

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