SA water shortage looms: Salga

South Africa will have a water shortage in future but contingency plans are in place, the SA Local Government Association (Salga) said on Tuesday (24/06/2014).

"New dams are coming because this is a challenge that we are actually experiencing as a country in its totality," Salga councillor Pinky Moloi said at a press conference in Johannesburg.

"We are aware of the fact that there is going to be a shortage of water in general at some point."

She said it was important to educate people on water conservation.

Moloi was addressing the media on Salga's annual report on water service delivery at municipalities as part of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI).

She said it was inconceivable that with all the technological advances in the world contaminated water still caused deaths.

"Water security remains one of the most tangible social, political, and economic challenges faced by communities across the globe today," she said.

The MBI is aimed at supporting municipalities in improving the efficiency of service delivery. - Sapa