We are facing a water crisis that can and will be averted
Demand for water is projected to outstrip supply within five years
● It has often been stated that SA is facing a looming water crisis. Sitting inside the ministry of human settlements, water & sanitation, I believe that the crisis has so far been understated. The situation is dire and unless we do something, as the government and citizens, we will be left with a water shortage situation that will affect us all, and to an extent never seen before.
The responsible minister for water & sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, has been seized with this problem since taking office.
Sisulu has identified the communication function within her environment as an important enabler for her plans. Furthermore, she has identified the absence of an integrated monitoring system as a big impediment to a sustainable supply of potable water to citizens.
It is almost criminal that, despite the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, we cannot capture data across the country in a manner that helps us manage issues before they become crises.
It is not to overreach to suggest that if such a national dashboard existed, it would help stabilise the country as it would greatly reduce waterrelated service delivery protests. Most important, it would greatly improve the lives of the poor.
Another innovative deployment of the communication function, which will be implemented at Sisulu’s instruction, is what we call project communication. She believes that this will greatly reduce theft, maladministration and corruption within the department and its various entities. Each and every project undertaken will be reported on to the public via our social media platforms and other channels.
We believe that this clever use of the communication function will help improve governance within the department, which has reportedly been a hotbed of maladministration. Some believe the malfeasance has become rampant over the years, with successive ministers being “sabotaged” by rogue officials.
The water & sanitation department has its work cut out for it. Only two-thirds of households in SA have reliable water supply services.
When it comes to sanitation, the picture is even bleaker. Only half of our country’s households have access to adequate sanitation services. Those without are mainly black and poor. As we say, water is life and sanitation is dignity. It is an uncomfortable truth, therefore, that half the population is denied the dignity of proper sanitation services.
The national water investment framework suggests that SA will need about R90bn a year for the next 10 years to ensure that all citizens have access to clean water and decent sanitation.
Considering the underperforming economy, it will be extremely difficult for the government to pull this off on its own, without the co-operation of the private sector. But the price of doing nothing is far greater. A collapsing water infrastructure and resources would most likely tank the economy.
Our water infrastructure has a weighted average age of some 40 years. It is ageing and, in some cases, aged. Inadequate maintenance and capital renewal have led to further deterioration. The supply of water to homes has increased since the advent of democracy, but this has also put a further strain on operations and maintenance.
The government has not shied away from accepting responsibility for its part in this.
As ordinary citizens we continue to make the situation far worse. We consign a third of the water we demand from municipalities to the sewer system through unattended leakages, and for that we must take responsibility.
Then you have those who steal water. We are gathering information on water thieves nationally, and the minister will announce how we are going to deal with them. These are mainly wealthy people.
As a country we mainly rely on the model of centralised water resources, which assumes that our rivers — which we share with neighbouring countries anyway — will always be adequate, if not prolific. Recent history teaches us that the opposite is true. Drying and dried-up rivers as a result of low rainfall have become a reality, with a number of dams dipping below safe levels.
SA is among the driest countries in the world but we go on as if we are among the wettest. It’s estimated that in five years’ time we will experience physical water scarcity. Our own department’s projection is that at that time the demand for water will outstrip supply.
We should be saving, instead of wasting, water. We should be looking after our rivers and the environment. Instead we are polluting our rivers, further putting a strain on the already stretched water-treatment facilities. This makes it more difficult and costly to produce potable water.
One of the questions Sisulu has been asking of officials and experts is whether SA can still afford to use potable water to flush its toilets.
Reconfiguring our water reticulation to allow for grey water to be used for such purposes would require a substantial capital investment, but one we cannot afford not to make.
Equitable provision and conservation of water services requires innovation and pragmatism.
Every crisis brings with it opportunities. We are facing a water crisis that can, and will, be averted. Through innovative thinking we will turn the water crisis into opportunities for the entire country.
As we solve the crisis we are going to create job opportunities and new millionaires.
The smart money is on water being the next gold, surpassing oil and other forms of mineral wealth. Some go further, to suggest that the next world war, which hopefully we will not see, will be about water. This calls for those among us with enterprising minds to explore the many opportunities that will present themselves in a decentralised water-supply era.
Innovation and new inventions will also be the currency as we tackle the backlog in the provision of reliable sanitation services.