The Beaufort Gyre ("rotating pattern") slowly swirls the surface waters of the Arctic basin, turning the Polar Ice Cap along with [...]]]> A huge pool of fresh water in the Arctic Ocean is expanding and could lower the temperature of Europe by causing an ocean current to slow down, British scientists said on Sunday.

The Beaufort Gyre ("rotating pattern") slowly swirls the surface waters of the Arctic basin, turning the Polar Ice Cap along with it. It makes one complete rotation about every 4 years

Using satellites to measure sea surface height from 1995 to 2010, scientists from University College London and Britain’s National Oceanography Centre found that the western Arctic’s sea surface has risen by about 150mm since 2002.

The volume of fresh water has increased by at least 8 000km³, or about 10% of all the fresh water in the Arctic Ocean. The fresh water comes from melting ice and river run-off.

The rise could be due to strong Arctic winds increasing an ocean current called the Beaufort Gyre, making the sea surface bulge upwards.

The Beaufort Gyre is one of the least understood bodies of water on the planet. It is a slowly swirling body of ice and water north of Alaska, about 10 times bigger than Lake Michigan in the United States.

Some scientists believe the natural rhythms of the gyre could be affected by global warming which could have serious implications for the ocean’s circulation and rising sea levels.

Climate models have suggested that wind blowing on the surface of the sea has formed a raised dome in the middle of the Beaufort Gyre, but there have been few in-depth studies to confirm this.

If the wind changes direction, which happened between the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, the pool of fresh water could spill out into the rest of the Arctic Ocean and even into the north Atlantic Ocean, the study said.

This could cool Europe by slowing down an ocean current coming from the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe relatively mild compared with countries at similar latitudes.

“Our findings suggest that a reversal of the wind could result in the release of this fresh water to the rest of the Arctic Ocean and even beyond,” said Katharine Giles at UCL’s Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling and lead author of the study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The team plans to investigate further the relationship between sea-ice cover and wind changes.

- Reuters

Oxfam called on Tuesday for an overhaul of the world’s food system, warning that in a couple of decades, millions more people would be gripped by hunger due to population growth and climate-hit harvests.

South African cities need to prepare for rapidly increasing oil prices, unpredictable rainfall patterns and fresh water demand, according to a State of the Cities Report released on Wednesday.

Cape Town needs to [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 22 April 2011

South African cities need to prepare for rapidly increasing oil prices, unpredictable rainfall patterns and fresh water demand, according to a State of the Cities Report released on Wednesday.

Cape Town needs to prepare for fresh water demand challenges

“City managers, responsible for acting in the best interests of their citizens, must take proactive steps to improve the ecological resilience of cities so that the metros become life-supporting systems,” Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Yunus Carrim, said at the launch of the report in Johannesburg.

“South African cities need to prepare themselves for rapidly increasing prices of oil and dependent products, erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns as a result of climate change as well as fresh water demand amongst other challenges.”

Carrim said the report by the department’s South African Cities Network – a partnership between cities that encourages the exchange of information – stressed the need to significantly reduce the racial spatial patterns of cities and improve the density of the population to encourage greater integration, lower transport costs and more effective use of limited energy resources.

“For the cities to be more effective in the future they will require much more support from provincial and national government as part of a more integrated co-operative governance system,” Carrim said.

- Sapa

“South Africa needs to be more sensible about the use and management of land and water resources. The more we reduce the ecosystems’ ability to deliver clean fresh water, the less water secure we [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 23 March 2011

“South Africa needs to be more sensible about the use and management of land and water resources. The more we reduce the ecosystems’ ability to deliver clean fresh water, the less water secure we will be and the greater the cost we will have to pay for our water,” says Mark Botha, Head of WWF’s conservation programmes.

We need to concentrate more of our efforts on catchment security. Photo by: Peter Chadwick

This week (20-27 March) marks South Africa’s National Water Week 2011, and the theme for this year is, “Water for cities: addressing the urban water challenge.”

“Many South Africans, especially those living in urban areas do not have a full understanding of where the water that flows from their taps really comes from, and the key role clean catchments play in providing it,” says Botha.

“Cape Town has run out of water many times in the last century. Each time an expensive “supply side” solution was found to buy us more time, but always at a cost. Now, with augmentation (further water supply) options rapidly diminishing, we’re finding that the biggest cost of dams is the complacency that they leave us with as ratepayers.”

“At some point, we need to realise that we cannot only continue building more dams and other water infrastructure, but that it is imperative to invest in the natural resources that we already have. We need to concentrate more of our efforts on catchment security,” says Botha.

According to Botha, catchment security is about the sound ecological management of our water generating infrastructure – not the dams, works and pipes that bring the liquid to our houses – but the catchments, wetlands and rivers that bring it to our dams and farms reasonably clean.

“We invest substantially in the concrete, steel and pumping systems, but hardly anything in our ecological infrastructure – the ratio has to be at least in the order of ten thousand to one,” says Botha.

WWF recognises the need for man-made water infrastructure; however it believes that without healthy freshwater ecosystems this infrastructure may be rendered useless. To illustrate, it appears that the much-touted desalination plants built in haste at great expense in the southern Cape in 2009/10 are hamstrung by ecological water constraints. As many as two of the four have already been shut down due to insufficient water availability. At the same time, the mountain catchments in the Garden Route are being over-run by invasive plants, and clearing efforts are not even holding them at current infestations. If the costs of the desalination plants (estimated to be around R35 million) had been routed into securing the ecological integrity of the catchments, the people of Plettenberg Bay may have not experienced water shortages last summer.

WWF, through the WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership works to conserve and ensure the healthy functioning of South Africa’s important freshwater ecosystems through various interventions and thus contribute towards the country’s water security. The organisation works with the government, the private sector, academia and other partners to achieve this goal.

Source: WWF

Source: Life on the vlei

Decades after conservationists called for the Verlorenvlei near Elands Bay on South Africa’s West Coast to be afforded formal conservation protection to preserve its biodiversity, this Ramsar site is [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 29 January 2011

Source: Life on the vlei

Decades after conservationists called for the Verlorenvlei near Elands Bay on South Africa’s West Coast to be afforded formal conservation protection to preserve its biodiversity, this Ramsar site is still under threat. A local authority, Bergriver Municipality, has now taken action which could turn the years of environmental neglect around.

Will Verlorenvlei receive the legal environmental protection it deserves?

Twenty-five years ago conservationists called for private individuals, private enterprise, and relevant official bodies to ensure that Verlorenvlei and its multiple resources are given formal conservation status protection as soon as possible.

This was in response to the first full-scale study of the wetland system which was published by the CSIR in 1986. The report quotes Prof. John Parkington, who points out that archaeological artifacts suggest that humans have been in the Verlorenvlei area, more or less continuously, for more than 100 000 years.   With few situations in sub-Saharan Africa where the potential for prehistoric reconstruction over such a period is so promising, and no other locality along the Western Cape coast with such potential, he states that it is imperative the promise is not squandered by the lack of conservation measures.

Fresh water is the biggest concern

Now, a quarter of a century later, the Verlorenvlei is decidedly under threat. Its unique archaeological treasures, its populations of fish, birds, animals and plants and its function as water purification filter and breeding ground for a significant number of species, are battling the impacts which human populations bring.

Perhaps more significantly, the Vlei is incontrovertibly linked to the Sandveld’s complex network of aquifers. Consequently, the environmental neglect of the Vlei is also posing a hazard to the availability of potable water.  Experts in freshwater studies have been expressing concern about the quality and quantity of water in Verlorenvlei since the first full-scale study of the Verlorenvlei estuary was published in 1986.

Despite its status as an internationally recognised Ramsar wetland, it is an anomaly that this recognition of its significance as a biodiversity hotspot still affords it no formal legal conservation status under South African law.

No mining in sensitive areas

For the Verlorenvlei Coalition, recent inappropriate mining applications and grants, such as the threat of a tungsten and rare earths mine in the Moutonshoek Valley upstream of the Verlorenvlei and the mining licence granted for the Vele Coal Mine near Mapungubwe, have highlighted shortcomings in mining legislation and its application, as well as a lack of development planning at the regional level.

The solution would be to place a moratorium on mining in ecologically sensitive areas and for government to be proactive in defining and identifying such areas rather than leave decision making to officials on an ad hoc basis. At the very least, the Coalition seeks an embargo on mining in the Moutonshoek catchment area of the Verlorenvlei: considering that mining is an activity which would immediately suspend the Vlei’s status as a Ramsar site, leaving aside the consequences of volatile chemicals on the loose in ground and surface water within the catchment area.

Bergriver Municipality takes action – Local Action for Biodiversity

Although there are no land-use planning frameworks and policies in place yet to stop the environmental degradation of Verlorenvlei, a local government authority has made a commitment which could finally save the estuary! In 2009 the Bergriver Municipality, which manages the catchment area of the Vlei, became the first B-grade municipality in South Africa to become a member of the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) programme. This is a global urban biodiversity initiative launched by ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) in partnership with the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).

In practical terms, this programme affords local governments the opportunity to improve the management of their resource biodiversity, thereby improving delivery of basic services, quality of life and sustainable development.

One of the key methods whereby LAB builds local government capacity is through workshopping between LAB participants and environmental practitioners, who come together to discuss everyday experiences, challenges, successes and ideas, and adding technical advice to find workable solutions. This year the Bergriver Municipality will host such a workshop for approximately 80 delegates from municipalities and environmental experts from all over the world from 31 January to 3 February.

Included in the programme of events is a site visit to the Verlorenvlei on World Wetland Day (2 February 2011). More significantly, the morning’s LAB process will focus on the Vlei and its catchment area as a Conflict of Use case study and solutions to the current impasse (ecology: farming: mining) will actively be sought in terms of the LAB deliverables.

It is hoped that this time the opportunity will not be missed to turn words into actions – that the Verlorenvlei will at last receive the legal environmental protection that it deserves in order for the Bergriver Municipality to wisely manage our resources for a sustainable future.

The country’s water crisis is past the eleventh hour as red-tape and interdepartmental bureaucracy remain major stumbling blocks to addressing the problem, trade union United Association of SA (UASA) said on Wednesday.

“Since March [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 25 November 2010

The country’s water crisis is past the eleventh hour as red-tape and interdepartmental bureaucracy remain major stumbling blocks to addressing the problem, trade union United Association of SA (UASA) said on Wednesday.

“Since March this year, it has taken the trade union UASA three well-publicised high-level seminars, an authoritative impact study, numerous meetings and a Section 77 application at Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council) to bring home the message that South Africa is facing a gigantic water crisis,” the union said in a statement.

The union said its water security crusade, labelled “H2O 4 Life”, has “awakened” government, organised business and others to the harsh reality that acid mine drainage and the dumping of sewage and industrial pollutants in “meagre” sources of fresh water were threatening the country.

The next meeting, where government, business and organised labour will continue their discussions was due to take place between December 1 or 2.

Cabinet has since appointed an interministerial task team to investigate the matter and to come forward with recommendations. The task team’s report, which was due to be tabled in October, has not yet been tabled.

“We’re past the eleventh hour already and if urgent measures aren’t taken immediately, it will result in reactive rather than proactive measures – trying to limit the damage instead of preventing it,” the union said.

“…Urgent steps needed to be taken by the government departments concerned. Unfortunately red-tape and interdepartmental bureaucracy seem to have been major stumbling blocks since then.”

Various organisations have raised concerns over the build-up of contaminated water from mining activities in recent months.

According to a report titled “Integrated water quality management for the Vaal River System”, Gauteng could lack sufficient drinkable water in five years due to acid water running from mining activities to the Vaal Dam.

The report, suggesting a number of measures that can be taken to alleviate the situation as a matter of urgency and was complied by a number of bodies including the government, Eskom, Agri SA and Chamber of Mines.

- Sapa

For the first time in years the Quinera River at Bonza Bay has flowed into the sea, and although environmentalists are concerned about claims of people helping nature along, locals are happy the mouth [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 03 November 2010

For the first time in years the Quinera River at Bonza Bay has flowed into the sea, and although environmentalists are concerned about claims of people helping nature along, locals are happy the mouth has opened.

Quinera River flows to the sea. Photo: Alan Eason

While some residents say the recent heavy rains caused the river to flow into the sea, others claim a trench was dug.

“I think it is awesome that the river opened up because all the bottles and dirt from the river have been washed away,” said resident Antoinette Faye, who runs a kiosk at Bonza Bay. The river started opening up last week on Thursday, she added.

She could not confirm if this was caused by nature entirely, but said the heavy rains resulted in an overflow that covered the boardwalk.

“It went up by about half a metre on the boardwalk in the deepest section for about two to three days. People were dodging eels because they thought they were sea snakes,” said Faye.

“I think it’s a good thing. It needed to open up because of all the sewage and dirt , which needed to be washed out,” said Beacon Bay resident Judy Sanan.

Dan Nel, who fishes at Bonza Bay frequently, said the last time the river opened up was about two years ago.

“It should happen naturally. I saw someone dig it open last week. If they hadn’t I think it would have broken on its own by the next day,” said Nel, adding that the reason for human intervention may have been the river’s overflow. “People were afraid the water could go into the car park.”

However, an environmental consultant with the Coastal Environmental Service, Greer Hawley, said any human intervention on an estuary required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.

“Anything within 100m from the high water mark of the ocean, within an estuary or within 32m of a watercourse, needs an EIA process according to the National Environmental Management Act, EIA regulations (2010),” he said, adding that estuaries were “high biodiversity and key sensitive areas”.

“Fauna and flora compositions within this area are distinctive because they can survive in both salt and fresh water. This is what makes these environments so special. Any disturbance within these ecosystems can impact on the plant and animal communities.”

Hawley added that a stormwater management plan was needed for Bonza Bay to prevent residents taking matters into their own hands. “People will continue to struggle with stormwater issues while sea levels rise as a result of climate change.”

BCM said the open mouth was reported to them on Monday afternoon.

“We will investigate, and if we find it to be man-made we will act on it and recommend penalties,” said spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya.

By: Lois Moodley
Source: Dispatch

The Environment and Conservation Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it was estimated that in five years, almost 80 percent of the country’s fresh water resources would be so badly polluted that [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 28 September 2010

The Environment and Conservation Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it was estimated that in five years, almost 80 percent of the country’s fresh water resources would be so badly polluted that no process of purification available in the country would be able to clean it sufficiently to make it fit for human or animal consumption.

About 56% of products we consume rely on clean healthy water

“If we do not find a completely new source of water altogether in about two years, most of Gauteng will be without safe health drinking water.”

The impending disaster that would be created by acid mine drainage as well as sewerage and industrial pollution had on many occasions been brought to the attention of the government, however with no positive results, the association said.

The association would embark on a massive water monitoring project where it would roll out water testing and monitoring in the six major water catchments in Gauteng and Limpopo, to produce independent and accurate results of exactly how bad the country’s water was.

Those results would be released to the public and the media, both locally and internationally.

“We will need approximately R 1 million for this project. It is time that big business, especially those that rely on water for the production of their products like Coca Cola, SAB Miller, Windhoek Beer, all soft drink manufacturers and food producers, get involved and make a substantial contribution towards organisations like ours so we can save South Africa’s water.”

Water preservation and conservation was not just an environmental issue, but an economic issue.

“Almost 56 percent of the products we consume rely directly on the supply of clean healthy water, and if this water is not available, those products cannot be produced.

“Water affects every single part of our daily lives and without it we cannot survive. We cannot eat and we will be left in a country made barren by pollution.”

- Sapa

Wastewater used for irrigation - Dakar, Senegal

Recycling urban wastewater and using it to grow food crops can help mitigate water scarcity problems and reduce water pollution, but the practice is not being [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 September 2010

Wastewater used for irrigation - Dakar, Senegal

Recycling urban wastewater and using it to grow food crops can help mitigate water scarcity problems and reduce water pollution, but the practice is not being as widely implemented as it should, according to a new FAO report.

Use of reclaimed wastewater in agriculture has been reported in around 50 countries on what amounts to 10 percent of the world’s irrigated land, according to “The Wealth of Waste: The Economics of Wastewater Use in Agriculture,” published today at the start of World Water Week (Stockholm, 5-11 September).

While on a global scale only a small proportion of treated wastewater is used for agriculture, the practice is winning increased attention worldwide and in a few countries — Spain and Mexico, for example — a high proportion of reclaimed water is used in irrigation.

“The case studies in this report show that safely harnessing wastewater for food production can offer a way to mitigate competition between cities and agriculture for water in regions of growing water scarcity,” said Pasquale Steduto, Deputy Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division. “In the right settings, it can also help to deal with urban wastewater effluent and downstream pollution.”

Farmers would also be able to avoid some of the costs of pumping groundwater, while the presence of nutrients in the wastewater would reduce their fertilizer expenses.

“Properly treated and safely recycled water can potentially offer a ‘triple dividend’ to urban users, farmers and the environment,” said Steduto.

Benefits offset costs

While building treatment and recycling systems that are capable of adequately handling wastewater does involve both capital investment up front and ongoing operating costs, the major benefit of such schemes is likely to be the value of the fresh water freed up for high-value urban or industrial use — this would reduce the cost to municipal authorities of seeking additional supplies via more expensive means.

And costs could be further offset by harnessing biogas generated during intensive treatment as an energy source, or potentially through the sale of carbon credits.

“While re-using wastewater in agriculture is not the only way to tackle problems of scarcity and pollution, it is in many situations an extremely a cost-effective solution, as the growing number of reuse schemes that we look at in this report testify,” Steduto said.

Location is everything

The feasibility of reusing water in agriculture depends on local circumstances and conditions, which will affect the balance of costs and benefits, FAO’s report notes.

Economic appraisal of any proposed projects should be made from a regional basin viewpoint, and it will also be necessary to factor the needs of and benefits to various water users, it says.

“It is unlikely that such schemes could be economically justified with reference only to agriculture,” the report says. “The benefits to urban and industrial users would be relatively sizeable, and in most cases would be the principal justification for the project.”

FAO’s report also stresses that raw or untreated wastewater is inappropriate for use in irrigation — adequate treatment and recycling is always required.

Source: FAO

Issued by: Communication Department City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management, Disaster Risk Management and Electricity Services Departments will be hosting a Climate Change and Energy Week from 16 to 19 August 2010. The focus will [...]]]> Posted by: Yes Solar Cape (Cape Town, South Africa) – 16 August 2010

Issued by: Communication Department
City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management, Disaster Risk Management and Electricity Services Departments will be hosting a Climate Change and Energy Week from 16 to 19 August 2010. The focus will be on electricity savings/safety and Disaster Risk Management.

Kirstenbosch Gardens

There is no doubt that temperatures are rising and climates are changing – causing rising sea levels and flooding, changing rainfall patterns (more floods in places while some areas will become dry and desert-like) and a decline in the availability of fresh water. It will affect our living conditions (extreme storms and heat), our food supplies (serious shortages of food in Africa) and our health (rising temperatures, more pests, more illness). Cape Town and its surrounding region, as well as our emerging economy, are particularly vulnerable to a changing climate.

South Africa also faces many years of electricity supply shortage, and rising prices. Some challenges in life may make us feel powerless, but in this case we all have the power to be part of the solution. We all have the power to save. Using electricity more efficiently at home saves money, helps save the Earth’s resources and reduces climate change impact.

The City is developing a significant Electricity Saving Campaign. It is aimed at encouraging Cape Town’s residents to improve their efforts to become more energy efficient at home and reduce their electricity consumption by at least ten percent (10%).

It may seem daunting, but knowledge allows us to prepare ourselves. The most important thing is that we know what to do about the problem – we just have to change our knowledge into actions!

The aim of Climate Change and Energy Week is to make learners from primary and high schools across Cape Town aware of the following:

• The effects of climate change on our biodiversity.
• Alternative energy sources.
• The story of electricity and energy.
• Adaptation and mitigation measures that we can take and put in place.
• Climate change is increasing disasters, droughts, extreme storms and desertification.
• How to save electricity.
• Street light vandalism and electricity safety.
• What we can do to make a difference.

Learners will learn more about all of these issues through plays, presentations, music, and visiting interesting places like Kirstenbosch and the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.

This week forms part of the City’s Youth Environmental School (YES) Programme and is hosted in partnership with Jungle Theatre Company, Centre for Conservation Education, South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), Eskom and Metro Rail.