Water crisis is SA’s next Eskom

Even as South Africa adjusts to the idea of being a power-scarce country, we are also going to have to come to terms with the reality that clean, piped water – even in big metros – is no longer a given.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has just released its WaterCAN project’s second annual Water Testing Week results. And it doesn’t look pretty.

ALSO READ: Pivotal reports reveal KZN’s water quality is subpar: DWS commits to address this

Across the country – where more than 700 “citizen scientists” helped take water samples from rivers, dams, reservoirs and municipal taps – analysis found unacceptable water quality levels. Issues ranged from high levels of chemicals, including chlorine, nitrates and phosphates, to indications of, or the actual presence of, faecal matter.

The decline in water quality is due, according to water expert Professor Anja du Plessis, to poor water governance, reactive water management and dilapidated water infrastructure.

ALSO READ: SA’s drinking water quality has dropped due to defective infrastructure, neglect

However, what is alarming about the findings is that this deterioration of water quality is no longer a hallmark of mismanaged and cash-strapped rural municipalities and small towns – it is affecting our major cities and the water supplied to consumer taps in those cities.

Du Plessis said: “The current water situation in Gauteng is a good example of the effects of over two decades of poor water governance and management, leading to overall neglect, causing shortages as well as in some cases, questionable quality of our drinking water.”

It is clear that water is South Africa’s next Eskom. The difference is that, with water, supply is not going to be the only problem. While we may be deprived of Eskom supply, when we do have electricity, it works.

ALSO READ: ‘Plant is too squeezed’ – Lekwa municipality to conduct weekly water quality checks

With water, when we do have supply, there is no guarantee that it will be safe for human consumption. And, as we have seen all too clearly in the Hammanskraal cholera tragedy, unsafe water kills.