CCBSA IS PARTNERING WITH GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES TO PROVIDE WATER HELPING BUILD SMARTER, MORE RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

By: Ntsako Baloyi, CCBSA Head of Sustainability Affairs

It cannot be over-emphasized how precarious the water situation is in South Africa, and indeed our region.

According to humanitarian information portal ReliefWeb, Southern Africa is one of the most water-stressed regions in the world and by 2040 the region will be in the critical danger zone when it comes to the ratio of water withdrawal to supply.

That may seem a long way off, yet predictions are that we will officially approach physical water scarcity in 2025 and an actual water deficit of almost 20% by 2030.

Due to periodic and severe flooding from heavy rains, one would be forgiven for believing that we have enough water. But the opposite is true, South Africa is a water scarce country.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 states: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the “most basic human need for health and well-being. ”The provision of clean and safe water translates to dignity, security and better health outcomes.

It is at local level where the impacts of water scarcity are most deeply felt, in particular, deep rural communities where infrastructure is limited.

CCBSA is very conscious of the importance of preserving water as a company which operates in a water scarce country and uses water in the products we manufacture. As a company, we support all efforts to provide clean and fresh water to communities, particularly those in rural and other vulnerable areas.

We further place a strong emphasis on supporting basic human rights and enhancing the quality of life for people. This is particularly so for the vulnerable girl child and women, as the primary drawers of water in rural areas.

CCBSA is committed to working with municipalities to support vulnerable commu nities through ongoing education initiatives as well as projects which deliver a stab le water supply. This ranges from large metropolitan areas such as Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape which stands at the brink of Day Zero when taps would run dry, to communities in deep rural areas such as Ga-Ramoshwane, in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province.

Water management and conservation is central to our sustainability strategy. We therefore do whatever we can to reduce our water usage and also, importantly, to replenish water resources.

The Coca-Cola Company’s Water Stewardship Strategy 2030 is a three-pronged strategy to water preservation, in terms of which we focus on:

• Regenerative operations, reducing local shared water challenges,

• Healthy watersheds, improving watershed health and supply chain sustainability, and

• Resilient communities, enhancing community water resilience, focusing on women and girls.

CCBSA works with a range of stakeholders to ensure meaningful and sustainable impacts with regards to water conservation in our country.

In 2022, CCBSA launched Project Lungisa in Grabouw in partnership with the Theewaterskloof

Municipality. The municipality was losing around 60% of its potable water due to water leakage. Through this partnership, we trained young community members in plumbing to support the rehabilitation of critical water infrastructure, particularly in informal areas.

The project has led to significant water savings, as well as improved hygiene and sanitation for the local community. A further benefit was the transfer of technical skills to local youth and creating opportunities for employment.

CCBSA has successfully rolled out our Coke Ville programme across South Africa as part of efforts to assist water-stressed communities. Coke Villes are groundwater harvesting systems that pump, treat, store, and distribute clean water. These innovative off-grid, solar-powered groundwater harvesting, and treatment projects are able to supply millions of litres of water at no cost to the communities.

Since inception in March 2020, over 400 million litres of water have been replenished in Limpopo, KwaZulu-

Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape provinces. In 2022 alone, over 246 million litres were replenished through Coke Ville benefitting over 25,000 households across the country.

Furthermore, we continue to manage water resources through sustainability projects such as our watershed restoration projects which are focused on rehabilitation, protection and removal of alien and water-hungry vegetation close to natural water sources such as rivers or dams. In 2022 alone, we replenished just under one billion litres of water across South Africa through both our Coke Ville and watershed restoration projects.

It can be done.

We have watershed restoration projects in critical watersheds such as the Baviaanskloof, the Langkloof, the Upper Vaal, the Upper Tugela, the Upper Letaba and the Sondags River where we work with local government and a range of communities and other stakeholders. It must be noted that the Upper Letaba and Sondags River are our leadership locations as they feed in to our two high risk plants, namely Polokwane and Gqeberha.

For 2023, we intend to do the following:

Resilient Communities Projects

• 10 New Coke Ville systems earmarked for Gqeberha and Polokwane

• Monitor and maintain 32 existing Coke Ville systems operational in Limpopo, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Eastern Cape

• Distribute 500 water wheelers to aid the elderly and persons living with disabilities in collecting Water From Our Systems

• Expanding our Water and Sanitation (WASH) Project to Zandspruit township

Water Restoration Projects

• Upper Vaal Restoration Project - The project will focus on catchment (watershed) protection and restoration (watershed and source water protection, invasive alien plant (IAP) eradication etc.). Estimated replenish is 400 million litres per year

• Upper Tugela (Thukela) Restoration Project - Project activities will include clearing of invasive plants; improvement of burning regimes; improvement of grazing management in collaboration with communities; restoration of wetlands and riparian areas; and control of erosion. Estimated replenish is 1 billion litres per year

CCBSA is committed to supporting projects such as the Replenish Africa Initiative that restores water to key watersheds through the removal of alien invasive plants.

• Upper Letaba - This project will restore priority areas by controlling invasive plants in key sub-catchment areas using a combination of manual, mechanical, and chemical controls. Invasive plant removal will be the core activity implemented to achieve objectives. Estimated replenish is 700 million litres per year

• Sondags River Catchment – This project will commence with a detailed feasibility study. Final project design to identify at least 80% of the required area that can be worked on to achieve the replenishment targets of 500 million litres per year

CCBSA is committed to continuing to play a significant role in helping to improve South Africa’s water security by being part of the solution through education and awareness programmes, innovative projects and nature-based restoration programmes.

We want to help build smarter, more resilient and sustainable communities. By collaborating and co-creating sustainable solutions with communities, government and the non-profit sector, we can reverse the tide and ensure a water secure future for generations to come. 

Team member, Aubrey Abrahams from WWF, is removing thirsty, invasive, alien plants in the Wolseley area, an important agricultural zone of the Western Cape.