Water Conflicts (Local Water Conflicts - Cape Town, South Africa)

Question 1

What caused the water crisis (Zero Day Near Miss)?

Answer 1

1. Rapid population growth (rural to urban migration)
2. Rapid industrialisation and growth of agriculture
3. 25% of water lost before reaching the city through leaks and burst pipes.

Question 2

What happened in 2018?

Answer 2

There was an extremely severe 1:300 year drought event.

Question 3

What are 3 major impacts of this water crisis?

Answer 3

1. 5% of the city’s water is allocated to over 20% of the population in informal settlements like Ethembeni (87,000 people living here without water or sanitation)
2. Theewaterskloof reservior went down to 13% capacity in 2018
3. farmers were given just 17% of their usual water allocation and 30,000 workers were made redundant due to this.

Question 4

How did farmers mitigate the water crisis problem?

Answer 4

They created boreholes (illegal activity)

Question 5

Give 3 examples of stakeholder conflicts relating to this crisis.

Answer 5

1. Coca Cola were allowed to take out 1.5 to 2 million litres per day, whereas residents were not allowed to consume more than 50 litres (Conflict between commercial businesses and residents)
2. In 2018, personal use from municipal supply was limited to just 50 litres per day, the minimum advise by the WHO (Conflict between government and domestic users)
3. Once compulsory water meters were installed, businesses could cut off water supply (Conflict between low income residents and governments)

Question 6

Give 3 ways that the water supply was managed in Cape Town during the 2018 crisis.

Answer 6

1. The City Water app (which showed household water use) was aimed at ‘shaming households’ that used high volumes of water
2. Smart water meters were installed across 350 schools and this saved 1 million litres per day in school water consumption.
3. The Water Use Restriction levels and fines of up to £500 made residents reluctant to breach restrictions (e.g. watering a lawn).