The demand for water in South Africa is expected to exceed supply by 2035, Gauteng rural development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said on Wednesday.

"The demand for water is expected to increase by about 32 percent over the next 25 years," she said in a speech prepared for delivery in Johannesburg.

This meant that by 2035, the demand for serviced water would exceed supply by 17 percent, she said.

According to the Gauteng spatial development framework, the province's population was expected to grow from 10.5 million in 2009 to 28 million by 2055.

"Will we have enough food and water to sustain such population growth?" Mayathula-Khoza asked.

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