Development strategies could be impeded {writer: Stef Terblanche}

The South African government may be forced to review its key development strategies after a new study found the country has 4% less water than was estimated in the last such study done in 1995. The latest research, conducted on behalf of the Water Research Commission, found that certain water usage strategies may have to be tweaked.

The foreseen water usage of development plans for strategic sectors such as electricity generation, industry, agriculture, mining and municipalities may have to be reconsidered and usage cut back. As with electricity, the researchers believe water is underpriced and tariffs should be raised. The study was commissioned in 2005, but has only now surfaced in the media.

However, it is not the first time researchers have warned about an emerging water crisis in South Africa. But so far the government has steadfastly denied that any crisis was approaching. Some recent developments:

Earlier, the head of the water-resources programme at the Southern African Development Community secretariat cautioned that it was becoming increasingly difficult to raise funds for water projects in the region and he appealed for assistance to reverse this worrying trend, yet no action has been taken;

Last year, then Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks signed a memorandum of agreement with 23 mining houses securing a R7.4-billion water supply project for the Limpopo province with the development of the second phase of the Olifants River Water Resources Development Project, which would ensure a sustainable supply of water for mining and commercial use, as well as for public use. However, projects such as these, and the usage of such water, may now have to be reconsidered;

And while water resources experts last year on several occasions warned that Eskom’s power crisis could be repeated in respect of water supplies in 20 to 30 years’ time, the government, particularly Minister Sisulu, rejected the possibility of such a crisis, despite Peter Ashton, senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), saying demand at the time already exceeded supply in 80% of South Africa’s catchment areas;

In another report last year, the National Nuclear Regulator confirmed evidence of contaminated crops and water, saying the government was no longer able to effectively monitor and manage its vast infrastructure of dams, pipes, pumps and treatment facilities;

Other reports last year found that 43% of dams managed by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry had safety problems and required urgent repairs; that an estimated R180bn was needed to replace old water service infrastructure countrywide; that waste water from mining operations appeared to have seeped into the country’s groundwater system, increasing concerns over future water supply; and water resources in several areas had been contaminated by radioactive waste materials.

These developments also contain the hallmark of events that led to the electricity crisis. A major water crisis will be catastrophic for South Africa.

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