South Africa’s water resources and adjacent ecosystems are in a terrible state, with only 35% of the total length of the country’s mainstream rivers still in good condition.

The high levels of threat [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 21 Nov 2011

South Africa’s water resources and adjacent ecosystems are in a terrible state, with only 35% of the total length of the country’s mainstream rivers still in good condition.

The high levels of threat results particularly from intense land pressures.

The recently released Atlas of Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas reveals that 57% of river ecosystems and 65% of wetland ecosystems are threatened.

Mandy Driver, the SA National Biodiversity Institute’s manager of biodiversity policy, said the Biodiversity Assessment published seven years ago highlighted the poor state of many river ecosystems, with the majority of the country’s large rivers rated “critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.

“We needed a strategic intervention to help sustain and conserve freshwater ecosystems, and the Atlas is the result.”

The team, who spent three years researching and compiling the Atlas, found tributaries overall were in a “far better state” than mainstream rivers.

“They also support the sustainability of hard-working rivers further downstream by diluting poor quality water and flushing pollutants. Only 35% of the length of mainstream rivers is in good condition, compared to 57% of tributaries.

“The high levels of threat results particularly from intense land pressures, especially around cities,” the Atlas notes.

Project leader and CSIR principal scientist Jeanne Nel said water influences the well-being of a country’s people, and water shortages or a decline in water quality will hamper economic development.

“Ultimately, the quantity, quality and timing of water flows are determined by the health of the ecosystems through which the water passes.”

South Africa has only 62 free-flowing rivers (without dams), constituting only 4% of total river length. Free-flowing rivers have become a rare feature in the landscape and the Atlas has identified 19 that should be preserved.

Speaking at the Atlas launch, Deputy Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi, said water was fundamental to national economic growth and development – as well as South Africans’ well-being.

“This scarce resource should be well managed, protected, used, conserved and developed.”

She pointed out that deterioration in the health of ecosystems negatively affected their ability to provide beneficial services, such as the filtering performed by wetlands to provide potable water.

By: Kim Helfrich
Source: The New Age

Further embedding its commitment to environmental sustainability, the Nedbank Group is to invest R9 million into the innovative WWF Water Balance Programme. Water is widely acknowledged as South Africa’s scarcest resource and the one that [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 31 Aug 2011

Further embedding its commitment to environmental sustainability, the Nedbank Group is to invest R9 million into the innovative WWF Water Balance Programme. Water is widely acknowledged as South Africa’s scarcest resource and the one that will be the most impacted by climate change. Nedbank’s increased focus on water is a key part of their climate change response strategy and underpins the urgent need to tackle climate change impacts as will be addressed at COP17 in Durban later this year.

Wattles have taken over more than 1.6-million hectares of South Africa

WWF estimates that around 98% of South Africa’s freshwater supplies are currently allocated and that demand will outstrip supply by 2025, jeopardising economic growth that is vital for ongoing socio-economic development.

‘Through our provision of water infrastructure funding, our 20-year involvement with The Green Trust and our own sustainability initiatives, we have invested in a range of water-related projects in line with our water stewardship programme, which addresses water scarcity, water quality and access to water. This new multi-million rand investment raises our water stewardship efforts to a much higher and more impactful level,” said Mike Brown, Nedbank’s CEO.

Dr Deon Nel, head of WWF’s Biodiversity Unit, said that WWF has identified the availability of water and the health of water provisioning catchments as one of the most critical challenges facing South Africa.

Nedbank’s investment will fund the removal of alien invasive species, which is estimated to release more than 550,000 kilolitres of water a year, back into two of SA’s high priority water catchment areas.

Following its achievement of becoming Africa’s first carbon neutral financial organisation in 2010, water is the next step in Nedbank’s sustainability journey. A 17% reduction in its own water consumption over the past two years is further evidence of this commitment.

“Nedbank is making an investment, in proportion to its operational water use, into WWF’s Water Balance Programme. The programme encourages water users to take ownership of South Africa’s common water challenge by going beyond reducing their own water consumption to also making an investment back into water provisioning ecosystems,” explains Nel.

“This substantial investment links high level commitments (such as the CEO Water Mandate) to tangible on-the-ground outcomes in some of the highest water yield ecosystems in the country. In addition to increasing water supply, these investments into WWF’s water programmes will also improve water quality, create jobs and contribute to climate change adaptation and resilience.”

Several critical water catchments are recognised in South Africa as the country’s ‘water factories’ based on the high water yield of those catchments. WWF has identified five nodes in which these catchments lie and where the programme will focus its broader water stewardship efforts. These are the upper reaches of the Berg and Breede catchments, the Garden Route from George to Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape; the Kouga in the Eastern Cape; the Umgeni in KwaZulu Natal and the Enkangala Grasslands (Mpumalanga). Nedbank’s R9 million investment will contribute towards work in the latter two catchments.

“When one considers that approximately 3,300 million kilolitres of water is trapped by invasive alien species in South Africa – equating to around 7% of the country’s water run-off – it’s easy to understand how important this investment is in improving water security in our country,” said Brown.

Importantly, he added, this massive amount of water is being prevented from replenishing the water ecosystems upon which our country’s environmental integrity is dependent. It is vital for this water to be freed up to improve water availability in a water-stressed country.

In addition, this initiative supports and complements government’s work in this area through its Working for Water Programme.

Valuable spinoffs also include job creation and support for farmers who show further commitment to environmental sustainability. “Water, energy and food security are inextricably linked and it is a pleasing addition to the programme that we can support the agriculture sector through this work too. We are enthusiastic about this next step in our sustainability journey and hope this encourages other corporates to play their role in making things happen” states Brown.

Source: WWF

Environmental rights groups have expressed concern about the state of the country’s rivers following a report made to Parliament last week.

Those who use rivers for recreation, consume the water, or water crops [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 24 Aug 2011

Environmental rights groups have expressed concern about the state of the country’s rivers following a report made to Parliament last week.

Those who use rivers for recreation, consume the water, or water crops all face health risks

Briefing parliament’s Water and Environmental Affairs portfolio committee, water affairs acting chief director for water resources information management, Moloko Matlala, listed the main problems affecting the quality of the country’s river water.

Microbiological tests in June found that KwaZulu-Natal’s river systems were badly affected by pollution, he said.

Those who used rivers for recreation, consume the water, or used it to water crops all faced health risks.

“Water from these rivers, if drunk untreated, poses a high risk to those consuming the water due to the presence of Escherichia coli (more commonly known as E.Coli),” he said.

The Waterval, Blesbokspruit, Natalspruit and Klip rivers were also affected by effluent from waste water treatment plants and industries, he said.

Matlala said the Umgeni River had high phosphate levels due to poultry farms, effluent from cattle feed lots and informal settlements without sanitation facilities along its banks and feeder streams.

The Umlazi River was also heavily affected by sewage discharged into it.

Head of Greenpeace International Kumi Naidoo said saving the rivers required more involvement on the part of the community.

“If people put more pressure on the local government and help in the clean up of rivers and they work together, the rivers can be saved,” he said.

Implementation of policy, he said, sometimes required a push from the people.

A research assistant and Masters Student in Environmental Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Kamleshan Pillay, agreed with Naidoo, saying it was possible for the rivers to be rehabilitated.

“In time these systems are able to heal themselves – our duty at this stage is just to make sure they are not polluted further,” he said.

Bobby Peek, of the environmental group Groundwork, said the problem was bigger than managing the pollution.

“The government needs to make sure it provides functional sanitation facilities to people in informal settlements so that untreated waste does not make its way into rivers,” he said.

Industry discharging effluent into rivers also needed to be policed more strictly, he said.

Duzi Umgeni Conservation Trust chairman Dave Still said his organisation was aware of the pressure rivers were facing.

“More investment in the refurbishment and building of infrastructure is needed to contain and manage the problem,” he said.

The department’s acting deputy director-general for water resources management, Mbangiseni Nepfumbada, was unable to say whether the health of the country’s rivers was improving or getting worse.

“The water quality of some areas are not monitored regularly, or not at all, due to human and financial constraints.”

He said it “needed to be looked at”, adding that little data was immediately available.

Source: IOL

With water, and electricity being the most vital ‘ingredients’ in ones life, waste still stands out as a killer source.

Johannesburg landfills are filling up rapidly

The City of Joburg (CoJ) has implemented [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 20 Aug 2011

With water, and electricity being the most vital ‘ingredients’ in ones life, waste still stands out as a killer source.

Johannesburg landfills are filling up rapidly

The City of Joburg (CoJ) has implemented the 2040 Growth and Development Strategy outreach programme which is taking place this week. Water, waste and electricity are the key topics expected to dominate the conversations during the programme.

Conversations around these will be held through seminars and round table discussions involving everyone from residents and businesses to the government, civil society organisations, labour and academics.

“Formal and informal debates will take place with the aim of finding solutions to safeguard our precious resources for future generations,” said Gugu Mathibela of the City of Johannesburg.

An abundance of coal has kept electricity prices very low and has attracted a number of energy intensive industries. City Power and Eskom recently experienced protests related to power cuts, prepaid meters and the increase in electricity prices. These incidents give electricity first preference at the discussions.

Johannesburg’s resource intensity is also defined by the volume of waste it generates. The city is gradually running out of landfill space. Waste dumping in communities has become a serious health concern.

Mathibela said: “With regard to waste management, the City has introduced a refuse recycling project in north-western Johannesburg with the aim of reducing the volume of waste going to land fill sites. These landfills are filling up rapidly, meaning that new landfills need to be found.”

Another critical issue to be addressed is water, Mathibela said. How Johannesburg manages its water supply is of crucial importance to South Africa because Johannesburg contributes over a third of the country’s gross domestic product. She adds that, the CoJ is one of only few major cities in the world that is not located near a natural water source such as a lake, river or the sea.

Recent studies from the University of Johannesburg have proved the safety and reliability of household water. There are three strategic issues which affect water in Johannesburg; water supply, water demand and water quality. To ensure that the City conserves its water, it has implemented water demand management measures. Some of the measures to be considered for the future will be rainwater harvesting; grey water reuse and exploring alternative resources such as ground water abstraction.

“It is however important that households start using water responsibly. To enhance this message the City will commence with consumer demand management programmes which will include raising awareness around the importance of saving water,” said Mathibela.

By: Keabetsoe Matshediso
Source: IOL

WWF has received numerous reports from aboriginal groups on the north-eastern coast of Australia of large numbers of sick, starving and dead turtles washing up on beaches. The reports come following the loss of [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 12 Aug 2011

WWF has received numerous reports from aboriginal groups on the north-eastern coast of Australia of large numbers of sick, starving and dead turtles washing up on beaches. The reports come following the loss of sea grasses after Cyclone Yasi and floods hit the area back in February.

Five species of marine turtle are classified as endangered or critically endangered

The increase in turtle deaths for April may be more than five times higher this year compared to the same time last year.

“If these numbers are accurate, then this is a shocking development for the Great Barrier Reef​” said WWF’s Conservation on Country Manager Cliff Cobbo. “We urgently need clarification from the Queensland Government on how many turtles are being found dead along the Great Barrier Reef coast”.

Turtle hospitals in Townsville, Queensland are being overwhelmed with sick and starving animals and do not have the resources to handle the number of turtles expected to need emergency care over the next 18 months.

Some local aboriginal groups have been so concerned by what they are seeing they plan to suspend issuing hunting permits within their saltwater country.

CEO of the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, Phil Rist, said large numbers of dead turtles and dugongs had been found in recent weeks and that strandings are occurring on a weekly basis.

Numerous threats

WWF believes recent extreme weather events like Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods, together with threats such as entanglement in fishing nets, water pollution and large-scale coastal developments have led to this increase in deaths.

“In the past turtles have been healthy enough to deal with extreme weather events, but the combined pressure of more fishing nets, declining water quality and associated disease, on top of the loss of critical habitats as a result of large coastal developments have all undermined their chances of survival,” Cobbo said.

WWF is calling on both sides of Queensland politics to commit to building greater resilience in populations of threatened marine species on the Great Barrier Reef through reforming net fisheries, reducing land-based pollution on the reef, and better managing large coastal developments.

WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Programme

Five of the seven species of marine turtle are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources​ (IUCN).

WWF has been working on marine turtle conservation for nearly 50 years and has provided a Global Marine Turtle Strategy to outline WWF priorities for marine turtle conservation.

The benefits of saving marine turtles go far beyond simply protecting these remarkable species.
Conservation efforts will make fisheries more sustainable and provide benefits to small communities and with marine turtles becoming increasingly important as an ecotourism attraction, a live turtle is worth more than a dead turtle.

Source: WWF

Ninety out of 175 rivers in the Durban area have very good or fair water quality, eThekwini’s water and sanitation department says.

The Umgeni River, plunging down the Howick Falls for 365 feet, [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 28 July 2011

Ninety out of 175 rivers in the Durban area have very good or fair water quality, eThekwini’s water and sanitation department says.

The Umgeni River, plunging down the Howick Falls for 365 feet, revealed good water quality

The water classification at 90 river sites in the eThekwini municipal area were either “near natural” or “good” or “fair” following an aquatic bio-monitoring programme to determine the state of the health and integrity of rivers.

Those involved in the programme studied the state of living organisms in the water.

“We are looking at life in the water… which is an indication of water quality,” said project executive Selva Mudaly.

The water quality in Umdloti river, north of Durban, was “good to near natural”, while Umgeni and Umlazi rivers both had good water quality.

Out of the 175 sites tested, 85 rivers had either “fair”, “poor” or “very poor” classifications.

Mudaly said the worst affected rivers were Isipingo, Umkhumbane and Umhlangane rivers.

The water quality was bad, mainly because of the rivers being near industrial areas or informal settlements with a lack of proper sanitation, and waste water taps running into rivers.

Mudaly said the best way to fix the problem would be re-housing the areas and ensuring people had access to proper sanitation.

But he said eThekwini was also in the process of moving people away from the rivers because often pit latrines would be built on the riverbanks, causing sewage to leak into the water.

- Sapa

The decline of large predators and other “apex consumers” at the top of the food chain has disrupted ecosystems across the planet.

The removal of predators like sea otters has consequences for all [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 July 2011

The decline of large predators and other “apex consumers” at the top of the food chain has disrupted ecosystems across the planet.

The removal of predators like sea otters has consequences for all of us

The finding is reported by an international team of scientists in a paper in this week’s issue of the journal Science.

The study looked at research results from a wide range of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems and concluded ”the loss of apex consumers is arguably humankind’s most pervasive influence on the natural world.”

According to lead author James Estes, a marine ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, large animals were once ubiquitous across the globe. They shaped the structure and dynamics of ecosystems.

Their decline, largely caused by humans through hunting and habitat fragmentation, has far-reaching and often surprising consequences, including changes in vegetation, wildfire frequency, infectious diseases, invasive species, water quality and nutrient cycles.

Plummeting numbers of apex consumers are most pronounced among the big predators, such as wolves on land, sharks in the oceans, and large fish in freshwater ecosystems. There also are dramatic declines in populations of many large herbivores, such as elephants and bison.

The loss of apex consumers from an ecosystem triggers an ecological phenomenon known as a “trophic cascade,” a chain of effects moving down through lower levels of the food chain.

The research, funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), “highlights the unanticipated effects of trophic cascades on Earth systems, including far-reaching processes such as biogeochemical cycles,” said David Garrison, director of NSF’s Biological Oceanography Program.

“The removal of predators like sharks and sea otters, bass and wolves has consequences,” said Garrison, “not only for these species, but for all of us.”

“The top-down effects of apex consumers in an ecosystem are fundamentally important, but it is a complicated phenomenon,” Estes said. “They have diverse and powerful effects on the ways ecosystems work, and the loss of these large animals has widespread implications.”

Estes and co-authors cite a wide range of examples in their review, including:

• The extirpation of wolves in Yellowstone National Park led to over-browsing of aspen and willows by elk; restoration of wolves allowed the vegetation to recover.
• Dramatic changes in coastal ecosystems followed the collapse and recovery of sea otter populations. Sea otters maintain coastal kelp forests by controlling populations of kelp-grazing sea urchins.
• The decimation of sharks in an estuarine ecosystem caused an outbreak of cow-nosed rays and the collapse of shellfish populations.

Despite these and other well-known examples, the extent to which such interactions shape ecosystems was not widely appreciated, scientists say.

“There’s been a tendency to see it as idiosyncratic and specific to particular species and ecosystems,” Estes said.

One reason for this is the top-down effects of apex predators are difficult to observe and study.

“These interactions are invisible unless there is some perturbation that reveals them,” Estes said. “With these large animals, it’s impossible to do the kinds of experiments that would be needed to show their effects, so the evidence has been acquired as a result of natural changes and long-term records.”

Estes has studied coastal ecosystems in the North Pacific for several decades, conducting research on the ecological roles of sea otters and killer whales. In 2008, he and co-author John Terborgh of Duke University organized a conference on trophic cascades, which brought together scientists studying a wide range of ecosystems.

The recognition that similar top-down effects occur in many different systems was a catalyst for the current paper.

The study’s findings have profound implications for conservation.

“To the extent that conservation aims to restore functional ecosystems, the reestablishment of large animals and their ecological effects is fundamental,” Estes said.

“This has huge implications for the scale at which conservation can be done. You can’t restore large apex consumers on an acre of land. These animals roam over large areas, so it’s going to require large-scale approaches.”

The paper’s co-authors include 24 scientists from various institutions in six countries.

The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, Defenders of Wildlife, White Oak Plantation, NSERC Canada and NordForsk provided other support for the research.

Source: NSF

Boosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia’s longest river, could be key to future peace and security in the region a new report launched today by the United [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 July 2011

Boosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia’s longest river, could be key to future peace and security in the region a new report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says.

The Aral Sea, which relies in part from water from the Amu Darya, remains severely degraded. Estimates indicate that "the volume and surface area of the sea have decreased tenfold"

Big hydropower projects planned upstream, demand for irrigated agriculture downstream and growing concern that climate change is shifting weather patterns are emerging as major natural resource challenges for the four main nations involved – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The new report, prepared by UNEP on behalf of partners in the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), points out that water resources in the region are already impacted by decades of often unsustainable development dating back to the era of the Soviet Union.

Large-scale engineering projects dammed and diverted substantial flows from the Amu Darya river basin into activities such as cotton, wheat and fodder farming in arid and desert regions. Such projects have also contributed to increased land degradation and damage to soils.

The Aral Sea, which relies in part from water from the Amu Darya, remains severely degraded with the report’s estimates indicating that “the volume and surface area of the sea have now decreased tenfold”.

Water levels in the southern part have dropped by 26 meters and the shoreline there has now receded by several hundred kilometers, says the report Environment and Security in the Amu Darya Basin.

Across the Amu Darya basin there is growing concern over declining water quality with and implications for human health including increased incidence of kidney, thyroid and liver diseases. This is being linked with chemicals run off from cultivated land and the washing of soils in the winter to reduce salt levels.

The report notes that between 1960 and 1990 the average salt content of water in the lower Amu Darya basin more than doubled and “has not improved since”.

Pollution from mining, metals, petroleum and chemicals activities along the river system and air pollution in the form of dust and salt from dried out parts of the Aral Sea are also pinpointed as challenges to human health.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “As early as 1994, research identified the Amu Darya delta as an environment and security hotspot and these concerns are increasing rather than receding”.

“From a security perspective climate change, water, energy and agriculture constitute the main areas of interest for this report as they reveal the potential for increasing instability and even confrontation as more flows are impounded upstream reducing those water availability and quality downstream,” he added.

“Trust building, re-thinking agricultural production including irrigation systems and fostering cooperation on shared resources and infrastructure will be key to sustainable development in this part of Central Asia. The report sets out clear recommendations on how this can be achieved in a partnership between the countries concerned and the international community,” said Mr Steiner.

The new report details persistent, new and emerging stresses which will require environmental diplomacy to boost cooperation, especially around flashpoints between the nations sharing the Amu Darya.

Climate Change

“Temperatures are projected to rise by 2-3 degrees C in the next 50 years. Such an increase in temperatures could lead to significant environmental changes, some of which are already happening,” says the report based on the special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability.

For example there has been a significant loss of glaciers in the mountains of Central Asia since the latter part of the 20th century which is continuing. Many large glaciers have retreated by several hundred meters and hundreds of small glaciers have vanished altogether.

Along with snow melt and rainfall, the glaciers in locations such as the Pamir Mountains are key to river flows in the Amu Darya.

“With rapid population growth in Central Asia, rising demand for water in agriculture may produce a situation of water scarcity in rivers shared by several countries,” says the report, adding that reduced water flows could also lead to further challenges including impacts on biodiversity, increased silting up of reservoirs and more widespread land degradation.

Irrigated Agriculture

The report notes that water use, a great deal of which is used for irrigated agriculture, is high. Yet only a fraction of the 7,000-12,000 cubic meters per hectare is actually reaching the fields and crops.

Indeed it is estimated that more than half is lost due to, for example, leaks in canals and evaporation.

Countries are acting. Uzbekistan for example has launched several multi-million dollar projects to re-build its part of the irrigation network including pumping stations with the aim of improving the prospects for over 200,000 hectares of irrigated land.

Meanwhile the country is also drafting new water laws and investing in advanced irrigation systems and automated water management technologies to cut consumption.

The report suggests improved ‘hydro-meteorological’ monitoring and forecasting in the upper Amu Darya basin and closer ties in terms of water use between Afghanistan and the other key countries. Currently Afghanistan is outside the regional water management framework.

“Increasing land under irrigation by 20 per cent would increase total Afghan extraction to five-six cubic kilometers. The amount of water extracted – although still slight – is far from negligible particularly in the context of dry years,” says the report.

Meanwhile, part of Afghanistan’s long-term reconstruction plans involve increasing the amount and reliability of energy supplies via new hydropower developments with implications for water supplies downstream.

Hydropower

The report says that “recurrent extreme climatic conditions such as drought and extreme winter temperatures, combined with an increase in domestic and regional energy demand, have convinced upstream countries that it is necessary to develop their energy resources, especially hydropower”.

Afghanistan and Tajikistan for example are discussing plans to build the large 4,000 MW Dusht-i-Jum hydropower station on the Panj River, a tributary of the Amu Darya.

Tajikistan has also has resumed development of the Rogun dam on another tributary, the Vakhsh River, which will add 3,600 MW to the country’s installed energy capacity.

“These projects have prompted a strong reaction from downstream countries,’ says the report.

Recommendations

The report acknowledges that governments in the region are starting to move on many of the challenges but that a great deal more can be achieved to promote cooperative sustainable development and reduce tensions over finite natural resources.

It suggests that a good first step would be for relevant nations to ratify the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

This would serve the objective of establishing a legal framework and accountability for the collective management of the Amu Darya basin’s resources.

The report also calls for more exchange of information between countries on proposed transbounary projects that may impact the Amu Darya as one important mechanism for building trust and promoting cooperation.

Countries in the region should consider burden sharing in terms of maintaining water infrastructure while also promoting water efficiency measures and technologies.

Consultation on the costs and principles underpinning a fair, properly operated and balanced water systems should be carried out by the riparian states.

Modernization of regional energy systems and electricity grids should continue which, backed by improved energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy sources could reduce the need for increased hydropower projects.

Source: UNEP

The Guidelines are regarded globally as the most authoritative framework on drinking-water quality

Every year, two million people die from waterborne diseases and billions more suffer illness. But much of this ill-health and [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 04 July 2011

The Guidelines are regarded globally as the most authoritative framework on drinking-water quality

Every year, two million people die from waterborne diseases and billions more suffer illness. But much of this ill-health and suffering is preventable.

The WHO drinking-water guidelines, released today, calls on governments to improve the quality of their drinking-water. The Guidelines compel water suppliers to systematically assess the risk of contaminants entering the water supply and to take action based on their findings.

Read an overview on the drinking-water guidelines

Download the Guidelines for drinking-water quality

By: Sarah Wild – guest of Royal Dutch Shell in Wyoming

Having seen a natural gas extraction facility that works — and, despite its problems, Shell’s onshore natural gas development in Pinedale, Wyoming, works [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 June 2011

By: Sarah Wild – guest of Royal Dutch Shell in Wyoming

Having seen a natural gas extraction facility that works — and, despite its problems, Shell’s onshore natural gas development in Pinedale, Wyoming, works — it is not certain whether natural gas extraction will be the holy grail of energy and the employment cash cow that SA expects it to be.

Wyoming’s Pinedale anticline raises new concerns about natural gas extraction

The country has been divided since it became public that Shell and several other energy companies had fixed their gaze on the Karoo and the shale gas reserves far beneath its surface.

Some have argued that it will solve SA’s energy crisis, ensuring a fuel supply for about 200 years; help the country move away from its dependence on coal; and create “unprecedented” employment.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, SA has technically recoverable shale gas resources of 13,7-trillion cubic metres, which could allow it to be energy independent.

The 1,1-trillion cubic metres of natural gas from the Pinedale Anticline can supply 10-million homes with electricity for more than 30 years.

Others have said natural gas would simply reinforce SA’s dependence on fossil fuels and cause irreparable environmental damage to an area with world- renowned biodiversity.

The Pinedale facility debunks a number of the myths but raises new concerns about natural gas extraction, including the contentious technique of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”.

A natural gas well costs about $3m to drill and frack, depending on its depth. Perhaps the most important aspect of natural gas exploration is that the techniques used — from drilling to the composition of the chemicals — vary according to the geography, geology and temperature, among other variables, of the area. A well, which can be up to 2km deep, is drilled into the ground, with a mixture of diesel-based lubricants, biocides and water to reduce friction.

Most of the “flowback” — a fluid containing the drilling mixture, natural gas and solids — is regurgitated back into the drill hole. At Pinedale, this flowback is filtered and reused.

Once the well has been dug, cylinders with explosive charges are lowered into the hole. The charges are detonated, perforating the rock. Only then does the fracking occur. A water solution of fracking chemicals and sand is injected into the well under high pressure, making fissures in the rock about 3cm wide. Once again, flowback emerges from the well. Shell engineers say nearly all of this fluid is recovered over time.

Both of these processes — drilling and fracking — require fresh water. This is the first major, and possibly insurmountable, hurdle for natural gas exploration in SA. The Pinedale facility uses ground water for drilling. Although it is filtered after use, it cannot be recycled for drinking; it can only be reused in the drilling and fracking processes.

While the Pinedale area has about 1500 lakes as well as rivers running through it, the Karoo is semi-arid. In fact, SA as a whole is considered semi-arid, with its water resources under stress.

One fracking stage can use up to 20000 barrels of water — about 2,3-million litres — and a well can have up to 14 fracking stages, which could translate into 32-million litres of water. Moreover, in SA, Shell alone has applied to drill 24 wells, eight wells on three different sites.

That translates into a possible 772,8-million litres of water, about 300 Olympic swimming pools.

In Pinedale, Shell points out that 60% of the water it uses is recycled from previously used fluid. However, natural gas development has been taking place in Pinedale for more than 60 years, with Shell occupying rigs for more than 10 years.

There is well-developed infrastructure — kilometres of piping, water treatment facilities — that allows it to recycle its water, as well as economies of scale that make it feasible.

SA does not have this, and, yes, it would be able to build it up over time, but the country does not have the water to waste.

The first step in natural gas development is exploring for the gas, which requires the wells to be drilled. This means that the water used in these initial stages — the millions of litres of water — would not be salvageable.

Perhaps the largest myth surrounding natural gas exploration in SA is that it would be an engine of job creation.

Shell’s Pinedale facility, which houses 425 wells, has a staff of 66. Most of its work — drilling, fracking, water filtering — is outsourced to specialist companies. SA, which does not have a natural gas industry, would have to bring in foreign skills .

There is the possibility of secondary job creation, but that would start to gain traction only after the initial exploration phase, which takes about three years. However, those jobs may come at the expense of other s as it may not be possible for agriculture and tourism — the revenue generators in the Eastern Cape — and mining to co-exist. But that would become apparent only after production had begun.

As would be the unintended consequences of natural gas development. Citizens in Pinedale have experienced spiking ozone levels as a direct result of natural gas development. These cause respiratory problems in children and the elderly. An engineer on the Pinedale site said the problem could not have been foreseen since it was unique to the area.

This raises the question: if the techniques and chemicals used in natural gas exploration vary according to location, is it possible to rule out that exploration on each new site could result in unexpected and possibly fatal consequences?

However, since natural gas exploration has been taking place in the US for decades, it is fairly well regulated. The federal government employs two staff members who take readings daily from different locations around the anticline, monitoring fugitive gas emissions and water quality.

The question then is whether SA has the capacity to monitor natural gas exploration with the vigilance it requires.

Even before that, SA needs regulation to govern the exploration and development of these resources. Then the country can decide whether Shell and the other hopeful companies meet the necessary criteria — rather than the other way round.

Natural gas exploration works in some places, but it is uncertain — given the lack of a natural gas industry, water scarcity and the absence of regulation — whether it will work here.

Source: Business Day