Capetonians could face stricter water restrictions as dam levels hit a four-year low.

Save good quality drinking water - use grey water for irrigation

Low-level restrictions are already in place including a ban [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 18 Nov 2011

Capetonians could face stricter water restrictions as dam levels hit a four-year low.

Save good quality drinking water - use grey water for irrigation

Low-level restrictions are already in place including a ban on watering gardens between 10am and 4pm.

Adding to the low dam levels, rainfall this year has also been below average.

A UCT climatologist said of the past 10 months, eight had had below-average rainfall. May, June and July, usually the wettest months, were “drier than normal”.

Climate models showed this situation was likely to become more common in the years ahead and it could drive up the price of water.

Residents were being urged to conserve water. This appeal comes as climate change is expected to lead to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns.

The City of Cape Town’s water department was due to meet the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on Wednesday but has not released any details.

The city’s draft annual report says 19 percent of water was “unaccounted for”. This term refers to the difference in the amount of water purchased and in the city’s distribution system, compared with the amount which is sold to customers.

The report for the past financial year calls for measures to prepare for a “water-constrained future”. Some of the alternatives are desalination of sea water and the greater use of groundwater.

According to the draft report, some water-saving techniques are showing results. One of these is a pressure-management system which reduces the pressure of the water supplied to city consumers during off-peak periods.

This results in fewer leaks. A project like this at Brown’s Farm in Philippi produced an estimated saving of R8.2 million annually. After the project was introduced, there was an immediate drop in consumption.

Levels of the six major dams supplying Cape Town are at the lowest they have been in four years. On November 7, levels stood at 86 percent. Last year at this time they were at 93 percent and at 102 percent in 2009. Levels peaked in 2008 at 103 percent and were 99 percent in 2007.

Farouk Robertson, spokesman for the city’s water and sanitation department, said the city had “never relaxed” its appeal for residents to use water wisely.

Robertson said the city had expanded rapidly over the past few years and economic activity had increased.

This had led to more water consumption.

He urged residents to “amplify water conservation efforts”.

One tip was that residents should monitor the moisture of the soil in their gardens and, if necessary, introduce composts which would reduce the evaporation of water.

Another measure was to use buckets to wash cars, instead of hosepipes.

Robertson appealed to home-owners to watch their water meters and report leaks immediately.

“If you are wasting water, you are depriving other people of good quality drinking water. Know what you going to do, before you open the tap,” he said.

Peter Johnston, a climatologist with UCT’s Climate Systems Analysis Group, said for May, June and July, rainfall was less than 80 percent of the long-term average.

Johnston added that as December approached and it got hotter, around 1 percent of the volume of dam water would be used or lost due to evaporation each day. Because, November had been cooler, it had lessened the impact of evaporation.

“This is the sort of thing we can expect. We should get used to this scenario occurring more often and it’s a call for all us to watch our demand and usage.”

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry was not immediately available for comment.

By: Bronwynne Jooste
Source: iol

Professor Jenny Day, director of the Freshwater Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, said much has to be done to ensure that the Mother City does not dry up.

The Table [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 17 June 2011

Professor Jenny Day, director of the Freshwater Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, said much has to be done to ensure that the Mother City does not dry up.

The Table Mountain fossil aquifer has been there for millions of years. Extraction would permanently reduce the amount of water.

This could even include pumping water from under Table Mountain.

“The Table Mountain Series Aquifer stretches from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and up to the Cederberg. We think there is an awful lot of water but we don’t know what we can exploit without causing any damage. Or how much of it would be replaced by rainfall,” she said.

The city is currently investigating this option.

Day’s views have been backed up by the Department of Water Affairs which on Monday announced that the Western Cape could face dire water shortages within the next six years.

But these shortages will not bring the city to a grinding halt if Capetonians “use water more sparingly”.

In the mid-1980s, Day co-authored Vanishing Waters, in which he predicted that, by about 2015, many of the country’s larger cities will experience permanent drought conditions.

According to the department’s latest Western Cape water supply system study, few surface water development options are available “for augmenting water supply to the City of Cape Town and surrounding towns”.

“Population growth and the subsequent growth in the economy have been identified as major factors that are placing exponential strain on the water available for users,” the department said in a statement.

“The users include the City of Cape Town, as well as municipalities of Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Swartland and Saldanha as well as agricultural users.”

But it is not all doom and gloom for the city. Millions have been invested in infrastructure upgrades and replacements, water metering and water pressure management among other measures to reduce water losses.

The city also plans next month to issue a tender for a feasibility study to build a “large scale” seawater desalination plant. And feasibility studies on a large-scale re-use programme are also on the cards.

Day said desalination, although expensive, was not far off.

“In my opinion it is going to have to happen in Cape Town not very long from now. But because it is so expensive, they have to look at other options first.”

Phil Mashoko, director of water and sanitation for the city, said it was pivotal to start planning for the future supply of water.

“There is no reason for people to panic. We are being proactive by putting plans in place now to ensure that we don’t run out of water six years from now,” Mashoko said.

Last year the city embarked on a water conservation campaign which will be intensified.

Source: Times Live
Related arcticel: Desalinated sea water for city in four years

By: John Yeld

The City of Cape Town plans to call for tenders for a feasibility study on a large-scale seawater desalination plant, as the region runs increasingly close to using all of its [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 14 June 2011

By: John Yeld

The City of Cape Town plans to call for tenders for a feasibility study on a large-scale seawater desalination plant, as the region runs increasingly close to using all of its available fresh water supply.

Water scarcity may require winter rainfall pumped from the Berg into Voelvlei Dam

The tender call, expected within a month, will be for a study on where such a desalination plant could be built and what capacity it should have.

The call coincides with a major effort to plug water leaks and theft that, in February last year, accounted for one quarter of all treated water in the city, and with a warning that few options remain for tapping existing surface water sources.

The city will also be looking at the large-scale re-use of water. This is the only potential major new water source at a cost lower than seawater desalination, which is very expensive because of the large amount of electricity required. This study is expected to kick off “within the next few months”.

These initiatives are among the water conservation and water demand management measures that form a major part of the strategy for providing water in the Western Cape region that is already using about 92 percent of all “safely” available water. “Safely” means with a high degree of certainty of availability, without water restrictions.

Depending on how successful these measures are and on how much the city grows, the remaining 8 percent of available water will be fully utilised anywhere between 2017 and 2019, according to projections by the Department of Water Affairs.

In a statement yesterday based on the latest newsletter of the Western Cape Water Resource Strategy’s steering committee, the department said it was therefore supporting the city’s efforts by calling on all residents to use water sparingly.

It pointed out that the Western Cape Water Supply System could safely provide 556 million cubic metres a year. Users of this system include the municipalities of Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Swartland and Saldanha, as well as farms.

Last year, 511 million cubic metres were used, with 32 percent going to irrigation farmers and 68 percent to urban residents.

The department pointed out that the city had invested some R60m in the current financial year to upgrade and replace water infrastructure, metering, water pressure management and other measures to reduce water loss and the amount of “non-revenue” water.

“Non-revenue” water is water that goes missing in the distribution system between the collection point and the metered outlets, as a result of pipe bursts or leaks, reservoir overflows, metering inaccuracies and theft.

“(This investment) has had the effect of reducing the average ‘lost’ water, in relation to the water treated and supplied, from 24.4 percent in February last year to 19.9 percent in February this year.”

The department said it was looking at the feasibility of two surface water options for increasing supply: pumping winter rainfall run-off water from the Berg River into Voëlvlei Dam and diverting winter rainfall above an agreed threshold from Mitchell’s Pass (Ceres) in the Dwars River-Breede catchment, to the Klein Berg River and from there through existing diversion works also into Voëlvlei.

Both options would make additional water available in the Western Cape Water Supply System and for the West Coast District Municipality.

The downstream ecological water requirements of both schemes were being determined. In terms of the National Water Act, rivers must retain sufficient water – the “ecological reserve” – to allow proper ecosystem functioning.

The department said it was also involved in a study to see whether the region’s water supplies could be augmented by the “further artificial recharge” of the Langebaan aquifer, as the city council does successfully with the Atlantis aquifer.

“A recent study by the West Coast District Municipality to augment the Langebaan Road aquifer by means of injecting surplus winter water from the Berg River into the aquifer for use during the summer months has not been as successful.

“What was thought to have been a confined aquifer unfortunately seems to be ‘punctured’ by over-abstraction and boreholes… into the lower aquifer system.

“Further studies will be done, which will include the possibility of closing off all boreholes penetrating the Lower Langebaan Road Aquifer System.”

It also stressed that the removal of invasive alien vegetation was becoming “increasingly urgent”, as water used by these plants could be much better used.

Source: IOL

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 May 2011

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced today a Declaration of Partnership.

Water demand is expected to rise by 52% within 30 years while supply is sharply declining

Recognizing the critical role that water plays as a catalyst for both economic growth and social development, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) of South Africa forges a partnership with the Water Resources Group (WRG), an influential public-private global network on water supported by the World Economic Forum and the International Finance Corporation.

This new public-private group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will oversee the activities of a partnership called “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network” to address critical water issues in South Africa: water conservation, demand management and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources.

“This new partnership between the Government of South Africa and the Water Resources Group will help identify how South Africa’s plans for growth can be met with the water it has safely available. The foresight and leadership of Minister Molewa in this regard should be applauded” remarked Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group.

In South Africa, water demand is expected to rise by 52% within the next 30 years while the supply of water is sharply declining. If current trends of leakage from aged and poorly maintained municipal infrastructure and the loss of wetlands persist, this growth in demand will intensify competition for water resources across all sectors of the economy (agriculture, energy industry and domestic).

Should status quo in management practices remain, a gap of 17% between water demand and supply is forecast by 2030. This gap will have serious social and political implications and strongly impact South Africa’s plans for economic growth.

“The Water Resources Group partnership will enable South Africa to access best practice economics, projects and policies in water management from public, private and civil society sectors around the world, enabling officials to field-test and replicate actions for implementation domestically,” explained Dominic Waughray, Senior Director, Head of Environmental Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and member of the Water Resources Group.

The group will focus on key areas:

• Water conservation and demand management: increasing water use efficiency (in agriculture, industry and households) and reducing leakage from distribution networks (municipal and others, including irrigation)
• Diversifying the water mix: increasing the reuse of effluent and desalination (sea water and acid mine drainage), and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources, in particular for rural areas

The partnership will deliver two primary outputs: first, it will assist the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in developing sector strategies (agriculture, energy, industry) related to the key areas. Each sector strategy will:

• Identify a pipeline of potential projects and access its collective potential to close the water volume gap if implementation takes place
• Identify challenges for project replication
• Recommend a strategy to overcome challenges, including incentives for widespread adoption and contributions by each stakeholder to enable replication

Second, the partnership will provide expert support to help the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) consult with domestic stakeholders and design these pilot projects. Expertise provided from the WRG network will help NBF to:

• Develop joint public-private expert collaborations to structure and take forward the pilot projects
• Highlight the DWA-WRG partnership at COP 17 in Durban as a practical example of what South Africa is doing to manage its water security and adapt to climate change

Clear government ownership of the process is crucial to success and the inclusion of domestic public and private stakeholders. To this end, a public-private expert leadership group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will be formed to oversee the work. This new group will formally be called the “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network”. Stakeholders to be invited will include:

• Department of Water Affairs (chairperson: the director-general)
• Industry (key economic sectors such as food/beverage, mining and metals, energy)
• Other governmental departments (national treasury, national planning commission, local government)
• Development finance institutions (Development Bank of Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corporation, International Finance Corporation)
• Business organizations (NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF), Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), National Business Initiative (NBI)
• Civil society organizations (including WWF South Africa)
• Multilateral and bilateral development agencies working in South Africa
• A senior representative of WRG

Key partners of the WRG include The Coca-Cola Company, International Finance Corporation, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Veolia Environment.

The Water Resources Group (WRG) is a public-private platform for collaboration. It mobilizes stakeholders from the public and private sector, civil society, centres of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector transformation in support of their economic growth plans.

WRG engages with those governments who invite it to work on a comprehensive water sector reform strategy and then it provides a public-private approach to support them.

Source: World Economic Forum

Cape Town is located in a water scarce region with a high demand and usage during the summer months.

It is not legal to send rainwater via a gully to sewer

“The City’s [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 13 April 2011

Cape Town is located in a water scarce region with a high demand and usage during the summer months.

It is not legal to send rainwater via a gully to sewer

“The City’s amended Water By-Law, promulgated on 18 February 2011, provides an opportunity for the City to be pro-active and introduce water conservation and demand management measures to ensure sustainability of the water supply to its consumers,” says the City’s Director for Water and Sanitation, Philemon Mashoko.

All requirements of the Water By-law must be complied with as from the promulgation date.

One of the most important changes to the by-law is that a Certificate of Compliance of water installations must be obtained and submitted to the City upon the transfer of any property to a new owner. This applies to domestic, commercial and industrial properties and includes sectional title units.

A suitably qualified and accredited plumber in terms of the South African Qualifications Authority, must certify that:

• the hot water cylinder complies with SANS 10252 and 10254
• the water meter registers
• there are no water leaks on the property
• water pipes and terminal fittings are correctly fixed in position
• no stormwater is discharged into the sewerage system
• there is no cross connection between the potable supply and any grey water or groundwater system which may be installed

The conveyancer, on behalf of the seller/owner, needs to submit the completed and signed form via e-mail to CertificateOfCompliance@capetown.gov.za. The system will not delay the issuing of rates and taxes clearances by the municipality.

For more information call Danie Klopper on 021 590 1488 or click here and look under the ‘policies, laws and by-laws’ tab to view the amended Water By-laws and Certificate of Compliance document.

Source: City of Cape Town

South Africans must brace themselves for steep water tariff increases in the coming months, water experts have warned.

Water tariffs are too low, and are set go the same route as Eskom's astronomical [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 22 March 2011

South Africans must brace themselves for steep water tariff increases in the coming months, water experts have warned.

Water tariffs are too low, and are set go the same route as Eskom's astronomical increases

Though the exact increases are yet to be calculated, the impending increases would be similar to the astronomical electricity tariff hikes that hit South Africa early last year.

The proposed increases follow last month’s warning that South Africa will run out of water by 2020 if nothing is done to supplement water resources.

Speaking on the eve of World Water Week (March 20-26), Water Affairs acting director-general Trevor Balzer said South Africa’s cheap water resources have been used up and that government was looking at ways to address the problem.

“We are currently undertaking a study to establish the cost of water into the future. There is no doubt that the cost of water will be more expensive.”

Balzer said the government had plans to continue delivering free water to indigent households and that the study, which will be submitted to the cabinet before the end of the year, would reveal the new tariff structures.

Richard Holden, a business analyst at water parastatal Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, said the water tariffs municipalities charge for potable water is not enough for infrastructure maintenance and replacement.

The result, he said, was that funding constraints would lead to continuous infrastructure collapse, including pipes rusting and bursting.

“The infrastructure is old and needs to be replaced, but there is no money. Water tariffs are too low. We will go the same route as Eskom [by introducing huge tariff hikes],” said Holden.

He said the number of pipe bursts would increase and if not repaired and replaced, could result in high losses that would ultimately be detrimental to consumers.

A means of curbing one-off drastic increases, said Holden, would be for municipalities to implement water conservation campaigns and introduce gradual water price increases now.

If municipalities fail to implement this system, infrastructure would collapse completely and there will be “no money to fix the problem”.

“There is a crisis brewing. It is like the acid mine drainage, like Eskom, and like the toll roads. These issues are well known but it seems like we have to have a crisis in order to deal with them,” Holden said.

The system, he said, was not sustainable as the current tariffs do not take into account the full costs of operations, depreciation, maintenance and replacement.

Currently, most municipalities charge between R3.80 and R4.70 per kilolitre of water. But Holden believes this should be increased by between R3 and R4.

SA Institute of Civil Engineering water division chairman Dr Chris Herold said most water infrastructure in South Africa is well beyond its 50-year lifespan.

“We are approaching a 10-year backlog. It’s old and getting older.”

Department of Water Affairs spokesman Linda Page said bulk infrastructural requirements and maintenance backlogs across South Africa amount to R1.3-billion. According to a presentation made in parliament by the department in January, municipalities owe water boards a whopping R1.7-billion.

Herold said crumbling infrastructure manifests itself in the large amounts of water, which cities cannot account for.

The City of Johannesburg, he said, lost between 35% and 40% of its water last year as a result of crumbling infrastructure and general household wastage. In the 2009-2010 financial year, the City of Cape Town could not account for about 83.4million kilolitres of water.

By: Sipho Masondo
Source: Times Live

By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world’s population may experience water-stress conditions. Forests capture and store water and can play an important [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 21 March 2011

By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world’s population may experience water-stress conditions. Forests capture and store water and can play an important role in providing drinking water for millions of people in the world’s mega-cities. Given this fact, the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), international organizations involved in forests, call upon countries to pay more attention to forest protection and management for the provision of clean water.

One third of the world's biggest cities draw a portion of their drinking-water from forested areas.

“Forests are part of the natural infrastructure of any country and are essential to the water cycle”, said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director General of the FAO Forestry Department.

“They reduce the effects of floods, prevent soil erosion, regulate the water table and assure a high quality water supply for people, industry and agriculture.”  He was speaking prior to the UN World Water Day which will be celebrated this year on 22 March.

Forests are in most cases an optimal land cover for catchments supplying drinking water. Forest watersheds supply a high proportion of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs.

“The management of water and forests are closely linked and require innovative policy solutions which take into account the cross-cutting nature of these vital resources”, said Jan McAlpine, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat.  “The International Year of Forests, 2011 provides a unique platform to raise awareness of issues such as the water-soil-forests nexus, which directly affect the quality of people’s lives, their livelihoods and their food security.”

Moreover, forests and trees contribute to the reduction of water-related risks such as landslides, local floods and droughts and help prevent desertification and salinization.

Today, at least one third of the world’s biggest cities, such as New York, Singapore, Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Madrid and Cape Town draw a significant portion of their drinking-water from forested areas. If properly utilized, forest catchment areas can provide at least a partial solution for municipalities needing more or cleaner water.

Generating momentum on forests and water

It is well known that water used by forests can be influenced and reduced by prudent forest planning and management practices such as the planting of appropriate tree species. Countries are stepping up policy and project activities to increase forest areas for the protection of soil and water.

Eight percent of the world’s forests have soil and water conservation as their primary objective. While every hectare of forests make a huge contribution to regulating water cycles, around 330 million hectares of the world’s forests are designated for soil and water conservation, avalanche control, sand dune stabilization, desertification control or coastal protection. This area increased by 59 million hectares between 1990 and 2010. The recent increase is largely due to large-scale planting in China for protective purposes.

Topics related to forest and water interactions have gained international attention in recent years. Many relevant conferences and events have been organized between 2008 and 2010, each of them looking at forests and water issues from a different perspectives (e.g. integrated water catchment area management and the role of forests in precipitation). Based on the outcomes of these meetings, a set of practical actions on forests and water supply are currently being developed for policy-makers and technicians.

Work is also continuing at the project level, particularly in transboundary water courses. One very prominent example is the “Fouta Djallon Highlands (FDH) Integrated Natural Resources Management Project” in West Africa.

This ten-year project, supported by the Global Environment Facility and jointly implemented by FAO, UNEP and the African Union, involves eight countries (Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone).

The Fouta Djallon Highlands are the point of origin of a number of international water courses, notably the Gambia, Niger and Senegal rivers. Shifting agriculture and tree felling for charcoal production led to heavy deforestation and depleted water resources in the area. In order to improve local livelihoods and water resources, the project aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources through the restoration of forest cover.

Source: FAO

GCX Supports National Water Week 21 -28 March and World Water Day 22 March and these campaigns efforts to raise awareness for this precious natural resource.

“When the well is dry, we learn the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 17 March 2011

GCX Supports National Water Week 21 -28 March and World Water Day 22 March and these campaigns efforts to raise awareness for this precious natural resource.

“When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water.”
- Benjamin Franklin -

Water is life. But will there be enough for a more crowded world? We are depleting our water resources faster than nature can replenish them, and if we don’t do something about it, the well could be dry sooner than we think.

To show our support for these campaigns, GCX is giving away a 3 day Water Auditing Course to the value of R6500 to one lucky winner. GCX’s 3 day Water Auditing Level 1 course gives learners a good understanding of the importance of water, how to conduct a water audit and how to develop a water management strategy for a business or residential home.

Benefits of doing this course:

• Lead your company’s water reduction program
• Learn a unique skill that every company needs and helps to differentiate you in the job market
• Become a knowledge leader with your new found understanding of this critical resource
• Begin a new career in water management and conservation
• Learn how to manage and conserve water use in a home

To enter:

Send an email to timeak@globalcarbonexchange.com with your details and the email addresses of 5 colleagues or friends who you feel would love to receive our monthly environmentally focused newsletter. To view past newsletters, please click here. (http://globalcarbonexchange.co.za/monthly-newsletters.html)

A major step toward standardisation of water footprint measurement has just been achieved, with the issuing of a global assessment manual by the Water Footprint Network.

An average of 140 litres of water [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 02 March 2011

A major step toward standardisation of water footprint measurement has just been achieved, with the issuing of a global assessment manual by the Water Footprint Network.

An average of 140 litres of water to produce a cup of coffee

The assessment manual, issued by the 139-member network and scientists of the University of Twente in the Netherlands, complements the recently completed Global Water Footprint Standard in giving consistency to measures of water use and impact.

“The Global Water Footprint Standard comes at a time when companies in all sectors are awakening to the risk that water scarcity poses to their bottom lines and reputations,” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International, a leading member of the Water Footprint Network.

“This work helps companies understand their dependency and impact on water resources, and offers guidance on response strategies that conserve water for industry, communities and nature.”

By measuring the amount of freshwater used in goods and services consumed or in production, the water footprint concept is helping companies reduce water use where it is most wasteful. Similarly, it helps banks assess water-related risks prior to making investments and governments improve water management.

How much water do you use?

Individuals can use the water footprint to understand how much water they are using through the food they eat, the clothes they wear and the consumer goods they buy. Changing to less water-intensive products and choosing to buy goods from water-rich areas or catchments that are sustainably managed will move them toward a sustainable water footprint.

“The water footprint of common products such as coffee can be surprising. For example, it can take an average of 140 litres of water to produce each cup of coffee,” said Ruth Mathews, Executive Director of the Water Footprint Network.

“In a world now seriously stretching its limited fresh water reserves, the Global Water Footprint Standard helps us all know more about how much water we use, where it comes from and how we each can take steps to make our water footprint sustainable. This is crucial to ensure that the world’s people and natural ecosystems will have the freshwater necessary to thrive well into the future.”

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting the Global Standard also clearly demonstrates how individuals, companies and nations can quantify their contribution to water-use conflicts and environmental degradation in river basins around the world.

Partners from business, civil society, government, global institutions and academic organizations are working with the Water Footprint Network to push for improvements in water use efficiency, pollution reduction and sustainable water management. As more pressure is put on freshwater resources, using the standard in all sectors and in all river basins will be increasingly important.

“This is the state of the art methodology for calculating water footprint,” said Stuart Orr, WWF International Freshwater Manager.

“It improves and builds on previous methodologies using the very wide range of expertise available through the water footprint partners and gives governments, business and communities much better information for improving their water management and, most importantly, reducing their water footprint.”

Source: WWF

If SA was able to recycle its total national water resource 1,7 times over by 2035, the country’s unemployment problem would be solved, International Water Resources Association vice-president Anthony Turton said yesterday.

We [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 16 February 2011

If SA was able to recycle its total national water resource 1,7 times over by 2035, the country’s unemployment problem would be solved, International Water Resources Association vice-president Anthony Turton said yesterday.

We will create jobs and lose them again if we don’t recycle our water. Photo: Reuters

SA’s government is battling a 24% unemployment rate (4,1-million people), as measured by Statistics SA in the last quarter of last year, and has promised, in its New Growth Path economic plan, to create 5- million jobs by 2020.

While the ability to recycle water would not of itself create jobs, without this ability the necessary preconditions for the kind of economic growth that would create jobs would not be in place, Dr Turton told Business Day after his presentation to the inaugural Water and Energy Forum which ended in Sandton yesterday.

“We can incentivise and do whatever we like, but we will create jobs and lose them again if we don’t recycle our water…. In order to sustain growth we need 62-billion cubic metres of water and we have 3 8- billion cubic metres now,” he said.

However, for the first time in history SA’s economic and infrastructure development was constrained by environmental considerations, Dr Turton said in his presentation. SA’s water resources were increasingly compromised by growing demand and looming pollution problems from decades of mining that did not take the environment into consideration.

Added to this, the peak in SA’s coal production — on which the country’s energy grid is largely dependent — would come near 2020, he said. “Acid rain” was poised to obliterate up to 80% of SA’s mielie industry, a strong economic driver for the country.

Furthermore, while SA’s large platinum reserves might be a new driver of growth, the country’s platinum mines were deep and depended on a lot of energy and water.

Coal-based energy also depended on clean water and there were looming food security problems related to land reform that would coincide with peak water demand, he said.

“The game has changed forever…. We can’t use today’s science and yesterday’s experience to plan for tomorrow, ” Without action, SA would “crash and burn”, but this could be obviated by developing the technology to recycle its water.

Eskom yesterday became the latest in a short list of South African companies to sign the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, pledging to include water considerations in all its business decisions. It also undertook to set water conservation targets for itself and to conduct a water use assessment of its operations, Eskom water procurement manager Nandha Govender said.

University of the Witwatersrand geoscientist Terence McCarthy proposed a moratorium on new mining in the Vaal, Usutu and Komati river basins until an impact study was undertaken to determine potential damage. If an economically viable mitigation process was not found, there should be no further coal mining in these catchment areas or there would be a massive ecological disaster, Prof McCarthy said.

While pollution was often kept in check during mining, once mining ceased “problems” arose when the workings flooded about 10 years later, he said. “The ground is sterilised…. Everything dies.”

However, Dr Turton said, acid mine drainage was not, as widely believed, SA’s major water problem. “Microcystis (algae) is our big problem and one-third of the water in all our dams is affected,” he said.

By: Sue Blaine
Source: Business Day