Arid and Semi-Arid Water Resource Management in South Africa - Essay Example

?Arid and Semi-Arid Water Resource Management in South Africa Introduction to Water Resource Problems In 2001, the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted the following key issue in relation to climate and water resources; ‘climate change will lead to an intensification of the global hydrological cycle and can have a major impact on regional water resources, affecting both ground and surface water supply for domestic and industrial uses, irrigation and stream ecosystems’ (IPCC, 2001) This made governments realise the need for integrated and effective water management systems. Especially in regions where maximum precipitation falls between 200-250 mm per year (Welech Institute, 2006). 2. Introduction to Arid Regions Arid and semi arid regions cover 30% of the total area of the world’s land surface, and 80 countries occupy these regions. Figure 1 highlights that 40% of the world’s current population lives in arid regions (Balon and Dehnad, 2010). In developing countries in Africa and Asia, nearly a quarter of the population lives in arid and semi arid regions, compared to just 11% in Europe and 6% in Oceania. Figure 1 – Population Who Live in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions Source: www.water-asar.de/lang1/water_shortness_in_arid_and_semi-arid_regions_-_ar.html 3. Why Are There Water Shortages? The Welech Institute (2006) highlight many factors leading to water shortages. These include economic development, political and financial deficits, lack of information and education of population and lack of adapted technologies and know how. Figure 2 highlights several other key factors, and explains how this leads to water scarcity. Figure 2 – Reasons For Water Shortages Contributing Factor Explanation High Population Growth UN Population Division states population in developing regions (containing the most arid areas) grew from 1.6 billion in 1950, to 4.5 billion by 2005, and is predicted to increase to 8 billion by 2050, which will put enormous stress on water supplies. Climate Change Increased temperature rise between 2-4°c, affecting climatic weather patterns with less rainfall and higher evaporation rates in arid regions. Higher Demand for Irrigation 70% of the world’s freshwater is currently used for irrigation, and agriculture is the biggest consumer of fresh water in arid regions. Groundwater Depletion Over pumping of groundwater (160 m? of non renewable groundwater extracted every year) Contamination of Water Resources Due to leaching of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, domestic and industrial wastage, and untreated sewage. Adapted from Welech Institute Report (2006) 4. The Need for Action Figure 3 – Johannesburg 2002 Logo 5. South Africa and it’s Arid Regions Figure 4 – South Africa’s Arid Regions 6. Measures For Water Provision 6.1. South Africa’s Demand For Water The National Water Resource Strategy documents of DWAF states that overall water demand is expected to increase by approximately 9% from 2000-2025 (DWAF, 2004). By 2025 DWAF states that there will need to be both reduced consumption and increase supply to maintain water security and allow for sustainable development. Therefore substantial investments are required for water infrastructure and other water management strategies. 6.2. Planning and Management The Development of a National Water Resource Strategy designed to address the management of the water resources to meet the development goals of the country; Identifies scarce water areas and constrains development as well as development opportunities where water resources are available Industrial users required to develop and submit their water directly from a water resource (DWAF, 2004) 6.3. Groundwater Extraction and Mixed Use of Surface and Groundwater Figure 5 – Groundwater Extraction 6.4. Artificial Groundwater Recharge Refers to the process of transferring water into aquifers, such as rainfall and treated waste water. Advantages include; provides security during drought and dry seasons provides storage of local or imported surplus surface water improves quality of groundwater (dilutes saline water) 6.5. Rainwater Harvesting In the Southern Tributary catchments of the Lower Orange water management area, the unique use of soil embankments has been employed as a means of rainwater harvesting (DWAF, 2004). This enables the recharging of aquifers and reduces runoff. Schools and home roofs can also collect and harvest rainwater into water storage tanks at a domestic level. 6.6. Desalinisation Figure 7 – Desalinisation of Seawater 6.7. Strategies to Fix Leakage It is estimated that between 15-20% of fresh water is lost though leakage and wastage (Goldblatt et al, 2002). Suggested measures to fix leaks include; leak detection repairing visible and reported leaks pressure management effective zoning of distribution systems pipe replacement programme protection of pipelines against corrosion 6.8. Control of Invasive Vegetation Invasive vegetation causes a predicted 7% loss of annul flow in South Africa’s rivers per year. This results in less water for human consumption. The ‘Working for Water’ programme has been set up to clear 750,000 hectares each year to ensure greater water provision. 6.9. Rainfall Enhancement Shippey et al’s (2004) research indicates only 10% of moisture in atmospheric systems passing over South Africa falls as rain. The use of cloud seeding, which involves the artificial introduction of additional particles into clouds around which raindrops can form, enhancing the ability of clouds to produce rainfall. Figure 8 – Cloud Seeding Plane 6.10. Control of Water Pollution Through reducing water pollution, there is an increase in the supply of water and also increases the safety margin for maintenance water supplies during draughts (Schulze and Perks, 2000). 6.11. Inter-basin Transfers Transfers of water between basins may result in more efficient water use under the current and future changes in the world’s climate. This is an effective short term solution for addressing draught and water supplies on regional scales (Schulze and Perks, 2000), but can be very expensive to implement. A cheaper and short term method of water provision relates to water tankering. This involves water tanks being used to bring fresh water supplies during times of draught to arid regions, where there is no other supply. 7. Recommendations I recommend the best method for water provision in South Africa is though artificial groundwater recharge. As previously indicated, this strategy has many advantages, and has also successfully already been implemented in South African areas including Allantis and Karkams. It has been demonstrated at being effective and applicable to both large scale schemes and small scale operations. However, basic maintenance is required to ensure that the injection rate is optimised and high quality water is produced. From a long term and sustainable perspective, desalinisation appears to be a viable option to aid South Africa’s increasing water deficiency as the technology improves, and the cost of effective implementation is reduced. 8. Conclusion Long term strategies need to be adapted that meet local developmental needs and address the water resource management concerns. Arid regions like South Africa need to develop better methods of collecting, maintaining, re0using and supplying water to it’s citizens and industrial and agricultural sectors. 9. References Balon, M and Dehnad, F (2010). Institute for Water and Environmental Protection Technology. Available at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/35212932/WATER-CRISIS-IN-ARID-AND-SEMI-ARID-REGIONS---AN-INTERNATIONAL DWAF (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry) (2004a) National Water Resource Strategy. First Edition. Cited from Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Goldblatt, M, Gelb, S & Davies, G (2002). Macroeconomics and Sustainable Development in Southern Africa. Development Bank of Southern Africa. Cited in Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Hewitson B, Tadross M, Jack C (2005) Scenarios from the University of Cape Town. In: Schulze RE (ed). Climate Change and Water resources in Southern Africa: Studies on Scenarios, Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation. Water Research Commission, Pretoria, South Africa, pp 39–56. IPCC (2001). Climate Change 2001: Synthesis report. A contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cited in Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Kiker GA (2000) Synthesis Report for the Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Section: South African Country Study on Climate Change. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria. Makin, A 2005. Desalination in Focus. News Drop, vol 22 Issue 1. Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Schulze, R & Perks, L 2000. Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change on Hydrology and Water Resources in South Africa. ACRUcons report 33. Pietermaritzburg, School of Bioresources Engineering and Environmental Hydrology, University of Natal. January 2000. Cited in Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Shippey K, Gorgens A, Terblanche D & Luger M (2004). Environmental Challenges to Operationalisation of South African Rainfall Enhancement. Water SA 30 (5), pp 636 - 640. Van Dyk G, Peters R, Fourie S (2005) Water provision From Groundwater in the Northern Cape: Balancing Demand and Supply. Biennial Groundwater Conference, pp 381–391. Cited in Mukheibir, P (2008) Water Resources Management Strategies for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Impacts in South. Water Resource Management, 22 (9), pp. 1259-1276. Welche Institute (2006). Water: A Short Commodity. Available at http://www.water-asar.de/lang1/water_shortness_in_arid_and_semi-arid_regions_-_wa.html Read More