If the public wastes water, the law should step in
Individuals and industry must conserve our most precious resource
Fresh drinking water is essential for most living organisms to thrive. However, an extremely low percentage of the Earth’s water is fresh water, and of it, an even smaller percentage is available to humans. Therefore, every drop of potable and usable water must be used in a sustainable manner.
For the past few decades, South Africa’s available fresh water resources have been fully used and placed under tremendous stress. This has resulted in the threat of drought and water shortages.
South Africa is an arid country with a small percentage of its rainfall available as surface water. It further has one of the lowest conversion ratios in the world.
Each time we lose a water resource as a result of pollution or to poor conservation, we are driven closer to “water resource extinction”. It is extremely concerning that many of the country’s rivers are heavily polluted.
Section 24 of our country’s constitution states that “everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being”.
The same section further states that “the environment is to be protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.
Furthermore, section 27 of our constitution states that “everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water”.
Our water resources form part of the environment and the state clearly has an obligation to ensure its sustained existence and protection.
Laws, policies, and practices have to be in place to ensure that there will always be sufficient drinkable and usable water for present and future generations.
If the public abuses and misuses water, the law should step in, remedy and prevent the wrongs from recurring. Having looked at our constitution, we ask ourselves: where does this leave us with the current water crisis in the Western Cape? Is the law on paper of any use, seeing that our dams are emptying each day?
Analysing the crisis constitutionally in this case, the City of Cape Town and other surrounding municipalities as well as the Western Cape government, have an obligation to ensure there are adequate laws to protect our valuable water resources, and put structures, policies and plans in place to ensure that there is enough water in the future.
This could mean the building of more dams, using more water catchment areas, or the building of desalination plants and stringent penalties for water abusers, etc.
Moving forward, the state has to learn from the current water crisis, but should not wait until when the rains fill up the current dams.
The state must ensure that there are no more water crises in the future, and that as long as everyone uses water responsibly, everyone would receive their fair daily share thereof. In the same breath, it must be stated that there is also an obligation on individuals and industry to conserve water.
When the need arises, the public should harvest rainwater from roofs, use grey water, make use of onsite stormwater, etc.
Therefore, in conclusion, we all have the right to drinking water, and most of it is to be supplied by the state. But there is also an obligation on both the state and the public to ensure that water is not wasted, and is used in a sustainable manner.
Let us together work with the government in protecting one of our most valuable resources, not only for us, but for future generations as well.
Abduroaf is an advocate of the High Court based in the Western Cape. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree, both from the University of the Western Cape.
Laws, policies, and practices have to be in place to ensure that there would always be sufficient drinkable and usable water for present and future generations.