The water scarcity crisis been most severe in the Western Cape, and in certain municipalities in the Eastern Cape.
Major dams supplying the Mother City are currently only 37.5% full.
“Apart from anything else, this means there is little or no integration between the various levels in the water supply system and, importantly, no economies of scale,” he said.
Peo said that solving the water scarcity problem would be even more challenging than solving the problem of energy supply.
While national power utility Eskom is responsible for providing energy countrywide, Peo said there is no similar national body responsible for providing water to South Africans.
Water supply networks are also highly complex and more widely distributed than energy supply networks,” he said.
Fact checking website Africa Check, however, found it could not verify Zuma’s figures, saying there is “no conclusive data available on how much water SA municipalities lose”.
Meanwhile, Cabinet last week said that “more needs to be done to conserve water”.