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Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 September 2010
A battle is brewing between local people and major energy companies looking to exploit possible sources of shale gas in the Karoo.
 Shale gas is natural gas stored in rocks that are rich in organic material such as dark colored shale And at the heart of the conflict will be the one thing that is really scarce in the Karoo – water.
Five companies have recently been given the go-ahead to search for shale gas – trapped deep in the shale rock making up the Karoo landscape. Among them is Sasol, which has partnered with Statoil and American energy company Chesapeake, Shell, Anglo American, Falcon Gas and Oil and Bundu Gas and Oil, which is owned by an Australian holding company.
Bundu and Sasol executives have both said that if enough gas were found in the area, it would be “game-changing” for the industry.
And while most of these permits are technical co-operation permits (TCPs) and only allow for desktop studies, locals are worried about a controversial process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, in which vast amounts of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, are pumped into the ground to fracture the rock and release the gas.
The process would require millions of litres of water (up to 20 million litres for each production test well drilled) from the already sparse Karoo. And communities in the US where the procedure is becoming increasingly common, have cried foul after water became contaminated, apparently as a result of fracking. The US government has ordered an investigation into hydraulic fracturing. Continue reading Fracking may ignite Karoo water conflict
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 03 September 2010
Millions of South Africans, especially those that are without piped water, are directly dependent on the rivers for their livelihoods. Rivers get polluted easily, partly because there is lack of education on the side of communities and business on the importance of keeping them healthy.
 Luvuvhu River is being polluted by wastes such as heavy metals, pesticides, chemical compounds from fertilisers, wastewater effluents and other solid waste. Our river systems are connected naturally and artificially, through interbasin transfer schemes, making the transportation of pollutants from one catchment area to another possible.
Thankfully the Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, has radically embarked on a campaign during the month of August, as part of women’s empowerment, to create awareness among South Africans of the need to care for our scarce water resources. This campaign promotes active participation of communities, especially women and youth in the Departmental programmes to ensure sustainability.
The Deputy Minister visited the Luvuvhu River in the Limpopo Region on 4 August 2010, which is polluted by wastes such as heavy metals, pesticides, chemical compounds from fertilisers, wastewater effluents and other solid waste. Water quality reports show that the Luvuvhu River and its tributaries already indicate high levels of faecal pollution and steady increases in phosphate and nitrates.
“Let us keep our rivers clean and stop the pollution that kills our fish and contaminates our water resources. When you educate a woman you educate the nation” said the Deputy Minister in her speech delivered in Limpopo. Continue reading Adopt-a-River launches in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 25 August 2010
The Yangtze River – the longest river in Asia and the lifeblood of millions of Chinese – was once said to be so clear you could see the bottom. Today, as China’s massive economic growth takes its toll on the environment, it is at the top of the list of the 10 most-threatened rivers in the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
 The Yangtze River provides China with 35% of its fresh water. To help reverse the tide, the WWF has joined forces with Coca-Cola, which operates 39 bottling plants in China, to improve the water quality of the upper reaches of the Yangtze. One project, for example, has them working with rural farmers to reduce the runoff of animal waste into the river by turning pig waste into biogas, a type of fuel that can be used for cooking and heating. Another involves searching for ways for the multinational to be more efficient in its own use of water.
The non-profit’s partnership with Coca-Cola is part of a growing corporate awareness that water is a threatened resource, not just in the Yangtze but throughout the world. Companies that require a lot of water to do make their products are beginning to assess the risks that they — and their customers — face on the water-supply front and what could be done to mitigate them.
For continued growth in China, Coca-Cola officials recognize that the company must strengthen what they call “water security.” The WWF projects are “not considered philanthropy [or] even CSR [corporate social responsibility],” says Brenda Lee, vice president of Coca-Cola China. “It is part of our business commitment. We can only prosper and thrive in communities that are sustainable.”
Coca-Cola is working with WWF to help clean six other rivers on the 10-worst list. The company isn’t the only multinational to add an environmental partner to its water-related efforts, which also involve industry groups. Indeed, Coca-Cola’s competitor, PepsiCo, has been collaborating for some time now with the China Women’s Development Foundation, the architect of the Mother Water Cellars Project, which provides ways for people in the most water-scarce regions of China to have better access to water. Continue reading WWF joins forces with Coca-Cola
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 14 August 2010
If urgent steps are not taken, South Africa will run out of water for future economic growth within the next five years.
 This is among several alarming expert opinions contained in the second edition of “The Environmental Handbook: A Guide to Green Business in South Africa”, launched in Cape Town this week.
In a guest foreword to the publication, WWF SA chief executive Morne du Plessis warns that water availability is one of the “decisive factors” that will affect the country’s economic development.
“At current consumption rates, our demand will outstrip supply by 2015,” he says.
The handbook is published by consulting and research organisation Trialogue, which specialises in areas of sustainable business and corporate social investment.
Global warming
The latest edition focuses on global warming, and was coincidentally released on a day when local newspapers were highlighting one of its more dramatic global effects: a 260 square kilometre slab of ice which has broken off the Greenland icecap.
The handbook notes the effects of climate change and increasing water stress are now being felt in South Africa.
“We’re already at crux point with water, with only 2% of our supply in reserve – and, unlike the energy situation, there is no alternative to the resource we’re using,” it says. Continue reading South Africa out of water within 5 years
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 13 August 2010
The government will soon start issuing compulsory water licences for farmers in some river-catchment areas in a bid to divert water to other priorities, such as Eskom’s water-guzzling power stations.
There is a [...]
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