South Africans urged to save water as climate change becomes new normal

A recent media release by the department of water and sanitation (DWS) depicted a bleak countrywide dam level update and reignited the importance of saving water regularly.

South Africa is feeling the effects of the winter season, especially inland regions, where rainfall is irregular at best until summer returns.

National water storage declined once again this week by 0.2%, from 70.3% last week to the current 70.1%. This time last year, water storage was at 72%.

DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau attributed some of the water storage decline to the current necessity for people to wash their hands regularly. Although it is essential that every citizen practices stringent hygiene standards to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Ratau emphasised that taps should not run while people wash their hands.

“Wet your hands, soap them without water, and open the tap again to rinse. The idea is that every time water is used, there must be that consciousness to save water,” he said.

Ratau suggested that consumers in urban and rural be mindful of their surroundings as well, and report any municipal infrastructure leaks as early as possible. He sought to remind residents that the water used for everything from gardening to washing cars uses potable, drinking water – unless borehole water is an option.

“Don’t wash your paving with water. Harvest greywater to water your garden, and time this accurately – either early in the morning or at night, to prevent evaporation. Those little things add up,” he said.

Avoiding the polluting of water sources is also a way of mitigating supply issues, as this pollution reduces the availability of drinking water, and is costly to clean.

Instilling this consciousness means saving as much water as possible, where possible, because every drop counts. These simple actions are also easy to implement across the country, Ratau said.

Even in provinces not currently in danger, such as Gauteng, with the provincial water storage currently at 98.2%, must be mindful of saving water, Ratau warned.

And although Gauteng’s water storage is currently healthy, the Integrated Vaal River System continues to decline. This week alone, storage dropped from 67.3% to 66.6%.

Ratau reiterated the DWS release which flagged the Eastern Cape as having the most worrying water storage issues and dam levels.

This week, dam levels in the province declined from 55.6% last week to 55.0% this week, a far cry from the 60.4% last year. The Algoa Water Supply System, made up of five dams which supply water to Nelson Mandela Bay, are currently at 19.8% – a significant decline from 44.7% last year.

The Amathole Water Supply System, with six dams that supply water to Buffalo City, is currently at 44.6%, compared to 61.2% last year. And Queenstown’s water supply is currently at 45.3%.

The dam wall is pictured, 22 October 2019, at the Fika-Patso dam near Qwaqwa, in the Free State. The area is experiencing the worst drought in modern history. Picture: Alaister Russell/The Sunday Times

The province has also experienced intermittent droughts for the past five years.

Luckily, Ratau said that interventions to solve water shortage challenges announced earlier this year, to be led by the Amatola Water Board, have not been hampered entirely by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other provinces on the DWS’s radar are regions that do not receive winter rainfall, namely Limpopo, currently at 72.8%, and the North West, with water levels currently at 70.4%.

Besides water wasting behaviours, infrastructure leaks and water pollution, Ratau said industries that use a significant amount of water, such as mining, must continue to look at new technology to recycle water. For instance, Ratau explained that recycling 50% of the water used in the mining sector would already significantly reduce the pressure on the country’s water supply system.

“We need absolute consciousness from industry as well to reduce pressure on the system, for people to have water, especially when it’s dry.”

Another hurdle currently being faced by the DWS is the looming concern of climate change, which Ratau said played a significant part in threatening the country’s water supply.

Dr Andries Kruger and Sandile Ngwenya from the South African Weather Service (SAWS) attributed climate change to model projections that west, south west and northern parts of the country will experience a decline in rainfall. This in addition to continued worldwide temperature increases.

They warned that trends showing an inevitable lack of rain should be taken cognisance of by water management authorities.

“Therefore, even if there are projections of no significant change in rainfall, the higher temperatures will contribute to increased water stress,” said Kruger and Ngwenya.

Ratau explained that the serious threat of climate change has prompted researchers and the department to investigate the country’s best response to climate change, and how to mitigate its devastating effects.

This forms part of the country’s master plan to predict, where possible, what the implications would be for South Africa’s water sources when climate change becomes “our new normal”.

“You can’t always predict these things, but you can create possible scenarios to respond accurately and timeously. This is especially relevant to South Africa as we are a water-scarce country,” Ratau said.

Here are the rest of the country’s current water levels:

Free State: Currently at 83.4%, down from 83.8% last week. This time last year, water supply was at 88.2%. Bloemfontein Water Supply, four dams that supply water to Mangaung, is at 56.8%.

KwaZulu-Natal: Decline from 62.6% to 62.2%. The Umgeni Water Supply System which has five dams is at 74.9%, down from last week’s 75.4%.

Mpumalanga: Currently at 74.4%. Water levels in water management areas (WMA) steadily declined, with Olifants WMA dropping to 67.8% from 67.9%, and Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropping from 72.6% to 72.0%.

Northern Cape: The only province that has seen a significant increase in water supply. Currently at 96.7%, up from 85.6% last week. The Orange Water Supply System, with two dams, declined from 92.9% last week to 92.7%.

Western Cape: A slight increase to 37.0%, from 35.3% last week. The Western Cape Water Supply System, with six dams, is currently at 54.9%, up from 52.7% last week. The Western Cape is likely to receive winter rains soon, and water levels are expected to continue increasing.

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