ENVIRONMENTAL FALLOUTS NEED AN ENGINEERED RESPONSE

At the upper catchment level, increased rainfall also contributes to higher run-off of leaking sewage, which eventually finds its way to rivers. When abstracted, this polluted water increases the treatment costs for water utilities and municipalities, and subsequently increases tariff costs for consumers.

This underscores the evidence that there are major infrastructure gaps – especially within developing countries that need to respond to a massive surge in population growth and intensified urbanisation trends.

Complicating the problem is the constant and intensifying climate change threat that brings with it extreme weather conditions thanks to phenomena like El Niño and La Niña. The latter are cyclical climate patterns influenced by the unusual warming or cooling, respectively, of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Together, they form part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that influences atmospheric circulation around the globe.

Weather predictions

According to local and international experts, there’s a fair chance of a ‘moderate-to-strong’ El Niño occurring in 2023. The last major spike was the 2015/16 El Niño, which exceeded previous warming records. It was almost certainly a factor in Cape Town’s protracted drought between 2015 and 2018.

Now we need to be prepared for another potential extreme weather season for 2023/24. Either way, the 2022 eThekwini floods and the ongoing Nelson Mandela Bay drought crisis are clear evidence that global warming is taking its toll on the environment, and we need to be far more proactive in its mitigation.

Infrastructure and pollution

That in turn speaks to South Africa’s infrastructure challenges. Soil erosion, caused by poor land management practices, is exacerbating flood damage due to incidences like ground collapses. Siltation is another serious factor as soil enters rivers and builds up behind dam walls, significantly reducing their designed storage capacity and life.

At the business end, another key concern is the substantial backlog in addressing ageing pipeline infrastructure, compounded by available budget constraints and in-house engineering skills to address the problem.

The result is that non-revenue water losses are too high – averaging around 40% in South Africa nationally. Then there are the environmental contamination threats posed by leaking sewer lines. In addition to groundwater pollution scenarios, there’s a real risk of sewage entering cracked potable water lines during periods of intermittent supply.

The latter practice typically occurs when municipalities and utilities are forced to impose water restrictions during drought periods. Since potable water pipelines are pressurised, this stop/start process can inadvertently suck in pollutants that could pose a health risk to consumers and, in severe cases, cholera.

This situation is further compounded by the fact that a higher than acceptable percentage of municipal water and wastewater treatment works perform suboptimally – as indicated by recent Blue and Green Drop reports issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation. This means that effluent discharged to the environment is often not treated to standard, promoting a vicious cycle of spiralling pollution and process costs.

A need for homegrown innovation

However, rather than seeing these environmental and infrastructure challenges as insurmountable, we must embrace them as opportunities for positive socio-economic change as we reengineer in line with the broader SDGs.

We have most if not all of the capabilities and skills we need right here in South Africa. Our leading universities and academic community are on par with the best worldwide. And we have a sound manufacturing base, plus rapidly growing tech industries.

So, while it’s important to study global benchmarks, we need to focus more on promoting local innovation that translates into ‘Made in RSA’ goods, technologies and applications. Examples would include desalination, the default use of trenchless technologies in urban areas for upgraded and new pipeline installations, alternative building techniques using recycled materials, mainstream renewable energy on demand, and a booming local electric vehicle manufacturing sector.

Equally important is ongoing education at schools and within communities on why we need to respond to South Africa’s countryspecific SDG challenges together. That’s the best way to gain the buy-in we need from all stakeholders to re-engineer the future and clean up our environment.