WATER SECURIT Y
Is Gauteng water secure or is Day Zero looming?
Discussing water scarcity in Gauteng, especially after heavy rains due to Cyclone Eloise, may seem odd, but water security is a complex subject and South Africans have cause for concern. By Kirsten Kelly
W
henever I have presented on or talked about water security, it usually rains. And it is awfully hard to convince people that we have a water-security problem when it is raining,” states Gillian Maree, senior researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO). Maree is an urban planner – specialising in sustainability, environmental management and spatial planning – with a specific interest in water and biodiversity. When Cape Town was experiencing the possibility of a ‘Day Zero’, the GCRO was approached by the Gauteng Provincial Government to help them understand whether Day Zero is likely for Gauteng and, if so, how can they avoid it. To answer these questions, Gillian, together with other water specialists, created the Water Security Perspective for the Gauteng City-Region document.
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MAR /APR 2021
A complex issue
Water security is defined as the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies. “Looking at the risk part of the definition: if you are living in Alexandra or parts of Centurion that are prone to flooding, I would argue that you are not water secure at this point. Therefore, when we approach water security, we need to look at the entire water cycle. It is very difficult to give an absolute answer to the question, ‘Are we water secure?’ This is because of water security’s expansive definition,” explains Maree. Another complexity is the unequal access to water. Gauteng can only claim to be water secure when all its residents have affordable access to safe and reliable water supplies, as well as to safely managed and dignified sanitation services. As this is essential for people’s
health and dignity, it is important to expand access to water while also reducing water demand. “The approach taken must be just, fair and pro-poor, and ensure that no one is left out. In South Africa’s unequal society, water users who normally enjoy high levels of service must be the first to make water savings in times of stress,” says Maree. Due to Gauteng’s dense and urban city region, a high number of people do have access to water, but it is the reliability of water services that poses an issue. Some water services are unable to cope with large population densities and the water infrastructure fails. Many poorer communities experience weekly breaks in water services, meaning that they do not have any water security.
