With half of Africa’s forests and water resources and trillion-dollar mineral reserves, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could become a powerhouse of African development provided multiple pressures on its natural resources are urgently [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 10 Oct 2011

With half of Africa’s forests and water resources and trillion-dollar mineral reserves, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could become a powerhouse of African development provided multiple pressures on its natural resources are urgently addressed.

About 50% of Africa’s total water resources are concentrated within the Congo basin

A major Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment of the DRC by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) underlines the global significance and extraordinary potential of the country’s natural and mineral resources.

However, the study warns of alarming trends including increased deforestation, species depletion, heavy metal pollution and land degradation from mining, as well as an acute drinking water crisis which has left an estimated 51 million Congolese without access to potable water.

The outcomes of the two-year assessment have been released today in Kinshasa, by UNEP’s Executive Director, Mr Achim Steiner, and the DRC’s Environment Minister, Mr José Endundo.

Conducted in conjunction with the DRC’s Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, the assessment highlights successful initiatives and identifies strategic opportunities to restore livelihoods, promote good governance and support the sustainability of the DRC’s post-conflict economic reconstruction, and reinforce ongoing peace consolidation.

The study’s good news is that most of the DRC’s environmental degradation is not irreversible and there has been substantial progress in strengthening environmental governance.

For example, through steps such as regular anti-poaching patrols, the Congolese Wildlife Authority has secured the Virunga National Park, which at the peak of the DRC’s crisis was losing the equivalent of 89 hectares of forest each day due to illegal fuelwood harvesting.

However, the country’s rapidly growing population of nearly 70 million people – most of whom directly depend on natural resources for their survival – and intense international competition for raw materials are adding to the multiple pressures on the DRC’s natural resource base.

Key findings include:

• The DRC has the highest level of biodiversity in Africa, yet 190 species are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Elephants and mountain gorillas are among the species under threat.
• Up to 1.7 million tonnes of bushmeat (mainly antelope, duiker, monkey and wild boar) are harvested annually from unregulated hunting and poaching, contributing to species depletion.
• The DRC’s tropical rainforests extend over 1.55 million km2 and account for more than half of Africa’s forest resources – making them a critical global ecosystem service provider and a potential source of up to US$900 million in annual revenue up to 2030 through REDD+.
• The DRC has the largest artisanal mining workforce in the world – around two million people – but a lack of controls have led to land degradation and pollution. Its untapped mineral reserves are of global importance and are estimated to be worth US$24 trillion.
• Around 15 tonnes of mercury are used annually in the DRC’s artisanal gold mining operations, making it the second largest source of mercury emissions in Africa.
• The Congo basin supports Africa’s largest inland fisheries with an estimated production potential of 520,000 tonnes per year. While at the national level this resource is under-exploited, there are many instances of serious over-fishing pressures at the local level.
• The most alarming climate change-related issue is the vulnerability of rain-fed small-scale agriculture. For example, as of 2020, the duration of the rainy season in the drought-prone region of Katanga is expected to reduce from seven months to five months.
• There is a remarkable rise of ‘people-based’ social enterprises, most of which rely on natural resources. Yet with a fragile banking system and limited incentives to formalize transactions, the informal sector’s growth has become a critical structural problem as businesses can operate beyond environmental and labour laws.
• As it is still emerging from a long period of State decline and protracted crisis, the provision of basic services, including energy and water supply, and environmental problems in urban centres remain key challenges for the DRC.
• To support the DRC’s development challenges, a doubling of aid is urgently needed, including an estimated US$200 million per annum for the environment.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said the assessment highlights strategic opportunities that can support the sustainability of the DRC’s post-conflict economic reconstruction and serve to accelerate peace consolidation efforts.

“This assessment confirms the DRC’s unique endowment of natural resources and how they can contribute to sustainable economic growth, but also reveals the legacy of using these resources in fuelling much of the conflict and human tragedy that has plagued its people for too long,” he said.

“It is UNEP’s hope the assessment’s outcomes will galvanize action and greater support from the international community and help set the nation on a more sustainable course, capitalizing on the opportunities offered by a green economy in the DRC,” the UNEP Executive Director said.

The assessment aims to support the creation of enabling conditions for a transition to a ‘green economy’ in the DRC and promote a fundamental rethinking of the country’s ‘frontier’ approach to the use of its natural resources.

Speaking at the launch, the Environment Minister, Mr José Endundo, said the government welcomed the assessment which sheds light on important issues and opportunities, including the potential of the carbon market and ecotourism as sources of large-scale financing.

“We know from this two-year joint study that the DRC’s vast mineral reserves are again the object of intense foreign competition and that this is placing great pressures on our forests, wildlife and water resources,” Minister Endundo said.

“The REDD+ scheme in which the DRC is already engaged could potentially generate the necessary funding to address a wide range of development and environment challenges and we look to such mechanisms to support a sustainable recovery in the DRC,” the Minister said.

Funded by the Government of Norway, the UNEP post-conflict environmental assessment covers all of DRC, not only conflict-affected areas, and provides 70 recommendations covering 15 sectors and 13 environmental degradation ‘hot spots’.

Key recommendations include:

• Engaging in a ‘green economy’ transition whereby sustainable reconstruction in the DRC includes capitalizing on the DRC’s emerging social economy to generate ‘green jobs’ and other employment, including for former combatants.
• Diversifying energy sources as a basis for restarting economic activity. The DRC has a hydropower potential of 100,000 megawatts – or 13% of the world’s hydropower potential – which could meet domestic needs and generate export revenue from the sale of electricity.
• Overcoming the considerable environmental liabilities of a century of mining – with immediate action to remediate mining pollution ‘hotspots’ in Katanga – by introducing a new, modern mining approach and formalizing the artisanal mining sector to introduce better environmental and occupational health standards.
• Promote trans-boundary collaboration for sustainable fisheries management in the internationally shared Great Rift Valley Lakes.
• Strengthening institutional capacities for disaster preparedness – such as epidemics, volcanic eruptions, floods and forest fires – including early warning systems.
• More detailed surveying and mapping of natural resources and integrating the economic valuation of ecosystem services into all development planning.

UNEP’s Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Synthesis Report for Policy Makers is available online at: www.unep.org/drcongo. The study includes input from more than 50 partners including NGOs, universities and the UN family.

Source: UNEP

With climate change now widely recognised as the major environmental problem facing the world, the South African government is taking awareness to schools with plans to incorporate more environmental studies into the school curricula.

By: Duncan Alfreds

The ecosystems in SA are under threat and unless something is done urgently, the country will face a water crisis, a researcher has found.

Up to 85% of our estuaries [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 22 March 2011

By: Duncan Alfreds

The ecosystems in SA are under threat and unless something is done urgently, the country will face a water crisis, a researcher has found.

Up to 85% of our estuaries are critically endangered .

“Our ecosystems are in a shocking state,” CSIR researcher Dr Jeanne Nel told News24 at the World Water Day 2011 conference in Cape Town.

Nel’s remarks at the conference were underpinned by the water report by the CSIR and released to the public. It showed that water ecosystems were under threat from a variety of factors, including development and industry.

“Up to 85% of our estuaries are critically endangered and in the past five years we’ve been able to map the zone of an estuary. Our big systems are in trouble,” she said.

Estuaries form the transition ground between river and ocean environments and play a critical role in managing the marine ecosystem, but they are also sensitive to ecological damage from farming or industry.

Maps

Nel emphasised the importance of conserving estuaries, but insisted that her research did not suggest a policy of anti-development.

“Healthy ecosystems are responsible for ecosystem service delivery and so protection and utilisation go hand-in-hand. We should design catchments sensibly; this isn’t anti-development.”

The design of catchments should take into account the different uses of the system and through the CSIR, Nel and her team have developed Fepa (Fresh Water Ecosystem Priority Areas) maps which can assist planners in developing catchments.

“Catchments can be designed for multiple levels of use and natural rivers can support sustainable use. We’ve identified all the country’s water management areas with our Fepa maps. It can be used for land use planning and water resource development planning,” Nel said.

The lack of skilled personnel is a concern though, and Nel said that provinces in particular, had to make plans to develop skills in water management.

“Of concern is that the provinces don’t have aquatic ecologists and this impacts on their ability to manage water resources effectively.”

Source: News24

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

Issued on behalf of: Liesel James: Founder of Little Green Fingers

Spurred on by rapid urbanisation and climate change, water is set to be the world’s next major resource [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 17 March 2011

Issued on behalf of: Liesel James: Founder of Little Green Fingers

Spurred on by rapid urbanisation and climate change, water is set to be the world’s next major resource crisis – an issue World Water Day is drawing attention to on 22 March, 2011.

Blue-Green algae deposits.

With its theme of Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge it hopes to incite governments, businesses, communities and individuals to engage and address this growing issue and is something a group of passionate South Peninsula residents have taken significant heed of.

Motivated by a legacy of water issues that affect the Kommetjie, Ocean View, Capri and Noordhoek communities, the group aims to raise awareness about persistently high toxicity levels in Wildevoelvlei among the public at an event at Blue River Café, Imhoff’s Gift on 26 March.

Liesel James, Little Green Fingers founder and environmental activist says, “The concerns about Wildevoelvlei’s toxicity levels aren’t new. In fact, a warning was issued by the City of Cape Town in December 2010 advising public to stay away from affected areas, including Noordhoek beach.

However, the issue still persists and we want to pin-point its cause as well as discuss sustainable solutions as Wildevoelvlei used to be a pristine estuary but has degraded over the last two decades.”

It is alleged that the culprit is the effluent released from the Wildevoelvlei Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) into Wildevoelvlei – after it has been treated.

James said, “While we are aware that the water quality of WWTW complies with Water Affairs license conditions, phosphorus levels in the final effluent are still high. We believe it is this that is causing the toxicity levels.”

Once the treated water is released into Wildevoelvlei – which joins up with the ocean – it has the potential of causing blue-green scrum or cyanobacteria – a sometimes toxic algae – to bloom on the vlei’s surface, killing fish and crabs.

When humans come into contact with it, they may experience severe allergies, diarrhoea, vomiting, muscle pains and fever. Long term drinking may even cause liver disease.

And while the likely solution is to reduce phosphates in the water, James explains that although an upgrade of the Treatment Works was conducted a few years ago, it didn’t include phosphate reduction.

“We understand that phosphate stripping is part of WWTW’s long-term planning but it involves significant capital outlay plus ongoing annual operating costs.”

In the meantime, James is investigating alternative solutions such as a bio-digester. It creates methane gas from sewage which can then be used to generate energy.

She says, “The energy created from the bio-digester can help disadvantaged communities like Masiphumulele become less dependent on the national grid. This will spare resources and is the most environmentally sustainable option.”

The bio-digester will be among talk topics given to the public on the day. Others include a review of the current water situation (Kevin James: Global Carbon Exchange) and a comprehensive history of the area (Wally Peterson: Founder of KEAG). A community clean-up of Kommetjie Beach will conclude the event.

“Clean water is a right; not a privilege. As such we urge the community to participate in this event to not only educate themselves about water, and how to save it, but also to help develop solutions to overcome this ongoing issue that puts our children, pets and environment at risk,” concludes James.

Kids’ edu-entertainment will be performed by ToadNUTS, an environmental group that protects the declining number of Western leopard toads in the area, while Ocean View’s Marine Primary Environmental Group will perform the ‘Water Song’.

The event starts at 9am. A full programme is available on www.littlegreenfingers.ning.com.
For more information call 0711987875.

Massive water theft by farmers from the Vaal River, and the inability of municipalities to maintain infrastructure, are two of the main causes that will push South Africa into a water crisis in less [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 08 March 2011

Massive water theft by farmers from the Vaal River, and the inability of municipalities to maintain infrastructure, are two of the main causes that will push South Africa into a water crisis in less than a decade.

By 2013, water demand on the Vaal River system will outstrip the available yield

A paper by the South African Institute of Civil Engineering water division chairman, Dr Chris Herold, alleges that farmers steal about 175-million cubic metres of water from the Vaal, contributing to a significant reduction in the river’s yield.

“The water demands on the Vaal River have long exceeded the assured yield of the catchment. It has been publicly stated that by 2013, the water demand on the Vaal River system will outstrip the available yield,” Herold said.

“What is not commonly known is that this is based on achieving a 15% saving in water demand. To date no noticeable saving has been realised.”

This implies that we are already living with a 2% supply deficit in the Vaal system, and by 2013 we will face a 6% supply deficit, which would rise continually until 2019, when it would reach a staggering 11%, said the paper.

Compounding the problem is water lost through infrastructure leakage, which has reached crisis proportions as municipalities are consistently failing to meet water demand management targets.

“In addition to the lack of achievement of water demand management, and maintenance targets by local authorities, the collapse of water supply and sanitation infrastructure is well into crisis mode in many, if not most, rural areas,” the paper says.

“Undue vacillation on the part of municipal decision makers appears to have played a major role in the failure to achieve water demand management,” said the paper.

“Not only has this placed national water supply systems at risk for years, it is also extremely short-sighted given the large economic advantage to be gained from curtailing the water losses.”

The Department of Water Affairs imports water – albeit at a premium – from the Lesotho highlands to supplement water flowing into the Vaal and to dilute pollution.

But Garfield Krige, a water expert at African Environmental Development, said: “We are using tomorrow’s water today to clean up the mess by the mines.”

By: Sipho Masondo
Source: Times Live

Durban could face water restrictions as early as next year. This is the warming from eThekwini municipality water department head Neil Macleod, who said last week that recent good rains are the only reason [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 06 March 2011

Durban could face water restrictions as early as next year. This is the warming from eThekwini municipality water department head Neil Macleod, who said last week that recent good rains are the only reason restrictions have been avoided so far this year.

Rainwater Harvesting is a sustainable way of augmenting municipal supply

“The total rainfall for last year, for this region, was the fourth lowest on record. The dams at the beginning of this year were on average 20 percent lower than at the start of 2010. We typically have a series of wetter years followed by a series of dryer years. The wet years have continued for an extended period and have protected us for the statistical possibility of restrictions.

“If we’d had normal rainfall over the past three years, we would almost certainly be in the middle of water restrictions right now,” he said.

And the situation is likely to get worse. “For 2011, I do not see restrictions being introduced. But 2012 could be a different story. We are nearing the end of the summer rains and if we have a dry winter comparable to last year, then water restrictions in 2012 are almost inevitable,” he said.

Macleod’s comments come just two weeks after Professor Mike Muller, former Department of Water Affairs director-general and now commissioner of the government’s National Planning Commission, warned that South Africa will face a water crisis within the next decade.

He singled out the eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) and Joburg metros as the municipalities likely to first feel the shortages.

Muller told the Sunday Tribune yesterday that it is vital for cities to plan to ensure they avoided water crises.

“We need to plan and do the right things at the right time. Water is difficult because you don’t know exactly how much you have. You’re working on estimates of how much rain will fall, but it might not be the same as what you’ve estimated.

“We need to ensure not only that we have enough water now, but that we have enough if there is a drought. If that happens, we need to know we have plans in place. The national Water Affairs department has plans for all major cities, but often they are not implemented in time.

Every city needs to think about what it needs to do and whether it is doing it,” he said.

Muller said he was impressed with the efforts of Macleod’s department to reduce water losses and ensure available water was being used effectively. “Every city, when it plans, needs to look beyond building dams. They need to conserve and better use the water they’ve got,” he said.

Macleod said: “We are at a point where our dams are unable to sustain the current demand over an extended period and the risk of failure is one in 15 years – that means water rationing every 15 years, statistically.”

Adding to the problem in Durban is the amount of water lost or stolen, with the recent draft budget report for the 2011/12 financial year stating that 35 percent of the city’s water is lost or stolen through illegal connections.

Macleod said measures were in place to reduce this figure, including replacing ageing pipes and managing water pipe pressure.

But Macleod said other measures need to be considered, including building the Spring Grove Dam in the KZN Midlands and building a dam in the Umkomazi River.

Spring Grove should have been storing water five years ago, he said, “but construction work has not even started” despite an ever-growing demand for water. Macleod said even if Spring Grove was built there would still be a need for more capacity.

The other option would be to dam the Umkomazi River.

“The most recent estimate I saw put the final cost at close to R20 billion. Environmentally, the proposed site is also in a rather sensitive area.

“Continuing with traditional dam building is becoming unaffordable from both economic and environmental perspectives,” he said.

Given this, other more innovative measures are needed, including desalination of seawater and recycling water. Recycling is cheaper but has other implications.

“People don’t like the idea or want to drink recycled sewage. It has a ‘yuck’ factor. This is despite the fact that most of our water comes from heavily polluted waters, but it is the thought of recycled sewage that disturbs people. Durban’s water, for example, has Pietermaritzburg’s sewage in it. Recycling is more an emotional thing, and that’s the really big negative we’re facing,” Macleod said.

A desalination plant would cost about the same to build as a recycling plant – about R1.6bn to R2bn.

“Recycling is cheaper because the amount of impurities, and this might be surprising, are higher in seawater than sewage, making it easier to treat than seawater. Sewage plants would be inland, while the desalination plant is at sea level, so the amount you spend on pumping the treated water is less. While the capital costs are about the same, the operation costs do differ,” he said, adding they would be run by a private company, probably foreign, because of the specialist nature of the work.

Both options are being researched, but Macleod said a decision was needed urgently.

“Whatever we build, it has to be built by 2013 or 2014. We need it really soon,” he said.

Macleod encouraged ratepayers to report water theft or leaks so they can be dealt with quickly. The toll-free number is 080 131 3013.

By: Matthew Savides
Source: iol

South Africa faces a water crisis and could start having critical shortages as early as 2020; experts told the inaugural South African Water and Energy Forum in Johannesburg.

Water shortages will largely be [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 February 2011

South Africa faces a water crisis and could start having critical shortages as early as 2020; experts told the inaugural South African Water and Energy Forum in Johannesburg.

Water shortages will largely be due to demand outstripping supply

The forum’s two-day conference is being held at the Sandton Sun for local and international experts to deliberate on water and energy supply issues in South Africa and globally.

Former Water Affairs director- general and visiting professor at the Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management Mike Muller told delegates that “a crisis is looming … If we don’t panic now and take action now, we will be in a crisis by 2020.”

Metropolitan municipalities including eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, and the City of Johannesburg, will be the first to be hit by shortages.

The shortages, Muller said, will largely be due to water demand outstripping supply, and to a lesser extent by poor water quality as municipal infrastructure deteriorates.

Other contributing factors include leaking pipes and the theft of water for agricultural purposes by farmers along the Vaal River.

“Good water management is very important for growth and development,” said Muller.

“South Africa will not run out of water, but the next drought will see supply cuts. New work must start now.”

He urged the government and municipalities to start building water infrastructure immediately.

Business Leadership South Africa CEO Michael Spicer said South Africa had sophisticated legislation and institutions, but was failing to implement those pieces of legislation.

SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Neren Rau said the crisis was “now”.

“Government has to take the lead. We don’t believe this is being taken seriously.”

Pancho Ndebele, director for Emvelo, a company specialising in solar energy and water eco-solutions, said it was important that companies understand their water footprint.

In Europe, he said, companies were toying with the idea of detailing the water footprint of every item they sell.

By: Sipho Masondo
Source: Times Live
Related Article: Water crisis looms for South Africa

The maximum consumption that SA’s water resources can sustain will be reached in about five years, warns Engineering Council of SA vice-president Thoko Majozi.

Garden Rhapsody. A grey water solution by Water Rhapsody.

By: Mike Muller - Former director-general of water affairs and forestry, a registered engineer and a visiting adjunct professor at the Wits Graduate School of Public and Development Management.

South Africa’s real water crisis [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 17 January 2011

By: Mike Muller - Former director-general of water affairs and forestry, a registered engineer and a visiting adjunct professor at the Wits Graduate School of Public and Development Management.

South Africa’s real water crisis is that the stuff is just too damn complicated. What do you think about when you worry about water? Can you afford to pay your water bill?

There is normally some water in the Komati because downstream Mozambique vigorously defends its rights to a share of their water.

Is the water in the tap safe to drink? Is there even water in the tap? Or perhaps what you really want to know is when you are going to get a tap?

If you run a business, is the quality and reliability of the water good enough for your needs? Do you even know where your water comes from?

Different South Africans face very different water challenges as a few cases will show.

For a taste of an immediate water crisis, start in the municipality of Nkomazi between Kanyamazane, Malelane and Komatipoort. Through the cane fields south of the N4, you are in rural South Africa, with half a million people living scattered across what used to be the homeland of KaNgwane.

There is normally some water in the big rivers, the Komati, Lomati and Crocodile, because downstream Mozambique vigorously defends its rights to a share of their water. That’s just as well because if you ask anyone what their water problems are, you will be told that, too often, the pipes are dry.

Even when the water flows, it may not be safe to drink. Here the problem is not the water resource, the water in the rivers, but rather the water services, the water in the pipes. Even where there is infrastructure, its management is an impossible task in an area with too many users and not enough supply.

If the problem for the rural poor is pipes with no water, the issue the rich people who live around Hartbeespoort Dam contend with is what comes out of the pipes. Once their pristine playground, the dam is now an environmental disaster. It was turning green and smelling bad even before sewage started flowing directly in, when the town pumps failed. But its state now is often unbearable.

Yet for the farmers downstream and the people who live and work among the platinum mines of North West, the dam is part of an infrastructure lifeline that collects Gauteng’s wastewater for reuse. More than half the water in the Crocodile River basin, of which the dam forms part, comes from the Vaal. People might prefer it to be cleaner, but without it, there would be disaster. That is cold comfort for those waterfront homeowners who can’t sit outside for their sundowners because of the stench.

Down at the coast, the water problems of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro are different again. The region certainly has water problems. That’s because the local rivers are simply too small to meet the area’s growing needs, aggravated by the current drought. The city has priority access to a huge supply through massive tunnels from the Orange River.

But because of the cost of bringing it to town, Port Elizabeth’s city fathers always tried to survive using their own resources. Now they’ve pushed their luck too far and are pleading for national subsidies for expensive desalination plants that can be built quickly. The rule is that drought hits places with too little capacity.

Ethekwini is the exception to that rule. Water demand has substantially outstripped supply but a series of good rains has kept the dams full and enabled them to live without restrictions – so far. The city’s water managers got away with it during the World Cup and, if the Spring Grove Dam gets from drawing board to ground in time, they will be safe again.

These examples illustrate the complexities of water and its management. We rely on unpredictable nature for the raw material and on our own ingenuity to manage it. As Hartbeespoort shows, water can be gainfully reused, but do it badly and the solution becomes the problem.

So successful water management is about sound knowledge, long-term strategy, sustained application and commitment. The real water crisis will occur not just if we lose our ability to understand and plan but if, as a country, we turn “Eskom ears” to the technicians and don’t listen to their advice. However, asking questions is the first step. Worrying about what the water crisis is and what can be done will help keep us on the right track.

Source: Business Report