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Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 06 Dec 2011
Efforts to establish water as an agenda item in its own right in climate change negotiations are gaining momentum in Durban, South Africa. Water experts say doing this will lead to a greater focus on developing policy, and attract more resources into the water sector through adaptation programmes.
 As rainfall patterns change, Africa is facing major crises “For every one of us, the first thing you use when you wake up in the morning is water, and when we are going to bed, it is water. Yet, it’s taken for granted,” says Chris Moseki, research manager at the Water Research Commission (WRC) in South Africa. WRC is a member of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) – a global alliance of organisations working on water issues.
Access to water is an urgent issue here in the Southern Africa region, where nearly 100 million people lack adequate access to water. Modelling by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa shows the region will become hotter and drier over the next 50 to 100 years, putting farms, industry, domestic water supply and natural ecosystems at risk.
International water experts and policy makers are concerned that planning for changes to water availability is not getting the prominence it deserves. Bai-Mass Taal, the Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), says they are working to raise the profile of water within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“We are saying to the parties, look: we appreciate what you are doing in other sectors, but without addressing water directly, all of that will be in vain,” says Taal. Continue reading Raising the profile of water
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 Sep 2011
Agricultural methods need to be radically overhauled to ensure food production rises to meet increasing demand but that water resources are not depleted further by doing so, research showed on Monday.
 An average 2,000-3,000 litres of water per day is needed to produce food per person A radical overhaul of agriculture could create farms that enhance, rather than degrade, the world’s ecosystems, said a report led by the United Nations’ Environment Programme and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
“Managing water for food and ecosystems will bring great benefits, but there is no escaping the urgency of the situation,” said David Molden, deputy director general for research at IWMI.
“We are heading for disaster if we don’t change our practices from business as usual,” he added.
Water limits are close to being “reached or being breached” in areas such as northern China, India’s Punjab and western United States, said the report, entitled ‘An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security’.
It warns that the number of people living in conditions of water scarcity could rise to 2 billion from 1.6 billion if the intensification of agriculture is not changed. Continue reading Water for food production close to limits
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. Continue reading Nedbank invests in SA’s water
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 26 July 2011
 It is imperative that renovations comply to the Water By-law Aspects of the updated City of Cape Town Water By-law has raised some queries amongst residents.
With the ever changing weather patterns associated with climate change, Cape Town remains a water scarce region and the City has a responsibility to ensure its water resources are managed effectively, efficiently, affordably and sustainably. Thus, the City is continually looking for ways to improve and enhance water and wastewater management and service delivery to ensure the availability and reliability of its water resources.
All consumers in water scarce areas should be empowered to save water and reduce their water losses/wastage. The City does this in a combination of different ways:- by providing information through various channels (media, bills, community engagement etc.); by utilising legislation (By-laws, policies) to guide or impose certain limitations; and by direct engagement with water users across the city.
There are some 620 000 domestic water connection points in the city. An ideal situation would be that every one of these premises are visited and inspected to indentify and eliminate water leaks and the discharge of stormwater into the sewers. However, the City does not have the resources to do this for every property. Continue reading Water By-law clarified by City
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 20 July 2011
Oil companies were today (Tuesday) asked to drop their plans to use hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to extract shale gas from the Karoo and other areas in South Africa.
Millions of litres of water [...]
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