1 Integrated Water Resource Management
1 Integrated Water Resource Management
1 Integrated Water Resource Management
In order to report efficiently on the objectives outlined in Chapter 3, they have been clustered into
logical groupings and structured into , as outlined below and discussed accordingly in the sections
that follow:
• Implementing policies, plans and programmes for integrated water resource management
- Develop and implement national/ regional strategies, plans and programmes with regard
to integrated river basin, watershed and ground water management (Chapter IV, 26(a) &
Chapter VII, 66 (b))
- Establishment of public-private partnerships and other forms of partnerships that give
priority to the needs of the poor (Chapter IV, 26(g))
• Technologies for alternative water supply
- Diffusion of technology and capacity-building for non-conventional water resources and
conservation technologies to developing countries and regions facing water scarcity
(Chapter IV, 26(e) & 28)
- Programmes for energy-efficient sustainable and cost-effective desalination of sea-water,
water recycling and water harvesting(Chapter IV, 26(f))
• Managing water resources in the context of extreme events
- Programmes for mitigating the effects of extreme water-related events(Chapter IV, 26(d))
• Information generation and dissemination
- Support regional, sub-regional and capacities for data collection and processing and for
planning, research, monitoring, assessment and enforcement (Chapter IV, 27 & Chapter
VIII, 66 (c) )
1.1.1 Progress
As a result of South Africa’s Reconstruction and Development Programme since the early 1990s,
focusing on poverty eradication and social and economic development, together with fundamental
shifts in the policy and legislation of various sectors in the country, including water, it was
possible during the WSSD in Johannesburg during 2002 to indicate that some of the millennium
goals in respect of water services for 2015 have almost been met at that stage (the water supply
goal was met in 2004). South Africa’s national water policies and legislation fully subscribe to
protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development as
contained in Chapter IV of the JPOI. The water sector is focused on achieving the targets of the
JPOI through their water resource management strategies. Projects and programmes are focused
on job creation, gender mainstreaming, poverty alleviation and economic growth, whilst
promoting sustainable water resource management.
An important contributing factor to this major achievement was substantial donations from a
large number of donor countries in cash and in kind, together with the development of a sector
wide approach to focus the strengths of the overall water sector towards harmonised delivery,
whilst effecting the efficient and effective incorporation of other relevant sectors of government,
such as finance. During 1994 an estimated 59% of the population of around 38 million had
access to basic water supplies. This has now improved to an estimated 86% of a total population
of around 49 million people having access to at least basic water supplies by March 2007. In
respect of sanitation an estimated 52% of the 1994 population of 38 million had access to at least
basic sanitation services and this number has now improved to around 69% of a total population
of around 49 million with such access.
The country furthermore indicated at the 2002 WSSD that it strives to have the overall backlog
in respect of water provision eradicated towards 2008 and that of sanitation towards 2010. Due
to various constraints it is uncertain whether these objectives will be fully met, but, over the past
number of years, the country has been providing access to basic water supplies to an additional
one million people per annum and sanitation services to an additional 200 000 households per
annum.
DWAF maintains a wide spectrum of water services support programmes to municipalities, e.g.:
• Local authorities are obliged to develop and update Integrated Development Programmes
(IDPs) to reflect their overall short to medium term development objectives. In terms of the
Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997), IDPs must contain a chapter on water, called the
Water Services Development Plan (WSDP). DWAF has developed extensive guidelines for
municipalities to enable thorough water management planning to this end and furthermore
provides direct assistance to municipalities in this respect;
• Municipal infrastructure are not adequately operated, maintained and refurbished due to lack
of resources and capacity. This could largely be ascribed to inadequate or absent
infrastructure asset management (IAM). DWAF is leading the way to establish an IAM
strategy for water services; and
• The Department has a close working relationship with research institutions such as the Water
Research Commission (WRC) and independent water management institutions such as the
Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA).
DWAF is the government department responsible for the formulation and implementation of
policies governing South Africa’s water and forestry sector. It strives to ensure that South
Africans gain access to clean water and safe sanitation, and promotes effective and efficient water
resources management to ensure sustainable economic and social development. Presently it is
responsible for water resource management in terms of developing policies, implementing
programmes as well as monitoring and regulating South Africa’s water resources.
The country’s first Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, approved during 1994 and followed by
the Water Services Act (No. 108 of 1997), gave expression to the relevant reconstruction and
development objectives of the Government. The focus was largely on the provision of basic
water and sanitation services to previously neglected communities and DWAF’s direct role at that
stage in the delivery of basic services to households. As a result of the completion of the
country’s local government transformation process towards 2000, thus empowering LAs to
assume full operational responsibility for their constitutional mandate for water services, DWAF
has been reviewing its role to be more of that of the sector leader, regulator and supporter. The
consequent new Strategic Framework for Water Services was approved by Cabinet in September
2003 and the Department is currently leading the process to revise the 1997 Water Services Act
(No. 108 of 1997) to reflect these new water services stances.
In terms of water resource management, the first National Water Research Strategy (NWRS) was
approved in September 2004 fulfilling the requirements of the National Water Policy and
National Water Act, No 36 of 1998. This strategy provides a framework to protect, use, develop,
conserve, manage and control South Africa’s water resources. A key approach to this strategy is
the promotion of self regulating CMA’s and other water management institutions, thereby
shifting DWAF’s role to a sector leader, regulator and supporter. Currently the Department is
developing guidelines for Catchment Management Strategies (CMS’s) for each CMA. The
NWRS was approved in September 2004 and strives to:
• Provide a national framework to manage the country’s limited water resources equitably,
sustainably and efficiently, focusing on poverty eradication, the well-being of water
ecosystems and honouring international obligations through harmonious best joint use of
water in shared river basins;
• Provide a vehicle whereby the South African society could be informed of the Departments
mandate in respect of water resource management. In this respect, the NWRS may only be
established when the Minister is satisfied that everyone who wishes to comment has been
afforded the opportunity and that these comments have been given careful consideration for
possible incorporation into the Strategy;
• Identify areas for social and economic development opportunities where water is available
and also areas where water will form a constraint.
Increasing water use and demands in South and southern Africa has resulted in an increased need
for projects and programmes focused on job creation, gender mainstreaming, poverty alleviation
and economic growth, whilst promoting water resource management. One successful initiative
achieving these goals is the Working for Water (WfW) programme which to date currently
runs over 300 projects in all nine of South Africa’s provinces (please see Box 5). The provision
of clean drinking water and adequate sanitation to all the people of South Africa is another key
strategy to promote poverty eradication. The Department has put considerable effort and
resources into supporting Local Authorities to fulfil water delivery and sanitation requirements,
and during 2005/2006 approximately 200 000 households housing approximately a million
people were provided with water and sanitation (DWAF, 2006).
The programme involves the clearing of alien invasive species, and to date it has cleared more
than one million hectares of invasive alien plants. It has provided jobs and training to
approximately 20 000 people, per annum, from among the most marginalized sectors of society.
Of these, 52% are women. The WfW programme currently runs over 300 projects in all nine of
South Africa’s provinces.
Another programme which has growing success in the delivery of water is called Water
Allocation Reform (WAR). This is a proactive approach towards redressing race and gender
inequalities regarding water-use, through the promotion of economic development purposes. It is
very dependent on a co-ordinated approach to ensure that water of adequate quality and quantity
is readily available for South Africa’s citizens for these purposes. Apart from dealing with equity
in water use among the big water users, WAR also focuses on helping smaller users and poor
people use water productively to give them the opportunity to be able to participate in the
economy as well. It specifically deals with water use that goes beyond domestic water provision.
The WAR programme amongst others is implemented through provincial and local government
through their provincial growth and development plans and IDPs.
During the period of the Community Water Supply and Sanitation implementation by the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (period between 1994 and 2003) issues of
empowerment of women and gender equity were integrated into project implementation.
Guidelines were put in place and monitored to ensure that women participated meaningfully in all
structures including decision making levels. They benefited from project related training as well
as a few life skills training. Plans are being developed to integrate women’s empowerment
programmes into current infrastructure initiatives like the De Hoop dam in Limpopo. The
Masibambane 111 theme of water for growth and development also creates opportunities to
develop focused attention to empowerment issues without affecting the overall gender
mainstreaming mandate adversely. The practice of recognizing and appreciating contributions of
women in Water, Sanitation and Forestry by means of annual awards is an integral part of the
departments overall programme.
South Africa has adopted the principles of IWRM into their national policy and legal framework.
IWRM calls for integration at a regional, national and local level, and implementation of its
policies and strategies to promote sustainable development in South and Southern Africa. The
SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses promotes regional cooperation towards regional
and basin-wide cooperation. In South Africa this approach is imperative as eleven of the
nineteen Water Management Agencies (WMA’s) in the country share international rivers. A
good example of implementing an integrated river basin and watershed management strategy is
that of the ORASECOM. This is an agreement between Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South
Africa which requires that all basin-wide matters relating to the development, utilisation and
conservation of the water resources in the river system are jointly discussed in ORASECOM.
The SADC protocol, however, still lacks a framework designed to manage groundwater resources
between South and southern Africa, and the significance of this gap requires attention. South
Africa has an important role to play as a negotiator within the SADC region. On a more
continental scale the Department represents the SADC on the Technical Advisory Committee of
the AMCOW.
The implementation of water resource management has shifted over the years into a more
cooperative governance framework. This framework promotes local level management of
resources which requires both financial resources and capacity at a local level. During the year
2005-2006 it was reported that a water summit was held in each province to ensure the alignment
of provincial and local government strategies for water resource management with IWRM and
DWAF objectives. This is a key theme to ensuring that programmes are aimed at achieving
national policies. Ensuring stakeholder willingness requires that both government and civil
society understand the necessity surrounding water resource management, however the skills
shortage in the Department may impact on its ability to effectively monitor the local level
situation. The development of the Framework Programme for Research, Education and Training
in Water (FETWater) should assist in awareness creation and capacity building.
The programmes developed for capacity building at a government level and awareness training at
a local level will promote water resource management from a bottom up approach. DWAF must
continue to monitor these strategies, whilst simultaneously monitoring non-compliance.
The greatest challenge centres on difficulties to access adequate financial resources to address
targets. The second challenge identified is the minimal skills and capacity of water sector
practitioners (engineers and technicians) as well as the Civil Society Organisations operating in
the sector. The African Network for Water and Sanitation is, however, playing an active role in
the water and sanitation field and is both experienced and capable. This challenge also poses a
threat to sustainability of services which have to be ensured by among other things proper
ongoing maintenance and operations systems of completed schemes.
In order to address the skills and capacity challenges the government of South Africa made seed
funding available from the European Union donor funding to initiate capacity building and lesson
sharing programmes in the region. This seed funding helped regional stakeholders undertake
processes of consultations, putting together proposals for the SADC, secretariat’s approval,
developing training modules as well as translation of documents into French and
Portuguese(languages used in Angola, Mozambique and the Democratic republic of Congo) The
SADC water division raised funds for the pilot training and capacity building programme in
seven ( 7 countries)
The South African Institute of Consulting Engineers ( SAICE) and the African Engineers Forum
(AEF) played a leading role in developing training modules for practicing engineers and
Technicians as well as organising training programmes in various countries during the pilot
phase. The Network for Advocacy on Water Issues in Southern Africa (NAWISA) currently
housed by the Kalahari Nature Conservation in Gaborone carried the responsibility of developing
Business plan for the Civil Society capacity building programme which will soon be
implemented. Working together with the Water Division this programme managed to obtain
minimal financial support from DANIDA.
Capacity building and training of Engineers and Technicians. Training Courses have been
developed to address needs identified by the practitioners:
1.2.1 Progress
Programmes implemented to promote water recycling and water harvesting are being researched
by various institutions. To date the most effective programme developed has been the warm
cloud seeding methodology. This strategy uses of hygroscopic substances released at the base of
convective thunder storms through flares fixed to aircrafts to enhance rainfall. This seeding
typically leads to a doubling of the amount of rain precipitating from convective thunder clouds
and the methodology is highly acclaimed at the international level. On an area basis, it would
appear that the average rainfall could be increased from 5 to 8%. Other types of unconventional
water resources still require further research, and this should be implemented to promote
alternative methods for access to water as a programme to reduce pressures on South Africa’s
water resources.
Seeking environmentally acceptable and cost efficient water supply technologies remains a
challenge to South Africa. In this regard, opportunities for improved water resource management
include:
• Assessing and implementing alternative sanitation technologies that are socially and
environmentally acceptable; and
1.3.1 Progress
South Africa has developed a Disaster Management Act (No. 57 of 2002) which calls for a
preventative and proactive approach to disaster management. Mitigating the effects of extreme
water- related events requires that the three spheres of government (namely DWAF, LA and
Catchment Management Areas (CMA’s) implement a cooperative governance framework aimed
at dealing with water-related disasters in a practical manner. Early warning systems must be
developed to ensure the effective management of water-related disasters, thereby reducing their
impacts on communities and South Africa’s water resources.
Strategies for managing South Africa's water resources have been developed to take account of
the country's variable and unpredictable climate and the resulting limited availability of unevenly
distributed water. The strategies, which are described in the NWRS, scheduled to be established
in terms of the National Water Act, No. 36 of 1998, during 2004, provide a sound basis to address
the anticipated effects of climate change without the need for special programmes or projects.
However, the effects are likely to manifest themselves at different times in different parts of the
country, and to vary in magnitude from area to area. A better understanding of these issues is
expected from ongoing research programmes funded and managed by the WRC, which will
facilitate prioritising intensified interventions in areas where the effects are greatest and/or will
occur soonest. It will be necessary to improve meteorological and hydrological monitoring
systems to detect the onset and development of the effects of climate change on water resources.
Climate change continues to have the potential to impact on South Africa’s water resources
significantly, and long-term planning and water management decisions must incorporate both the
current water demands whilst still implementing strategies to minimise the impacts of climate
change on future water resources. Approaches to water resources management that will facilitate
adaptation to a changed climate, include:
• Comprehensive and integrated planning across river catchments allowing for co-ordinated
solutions, using an appropriate mix of demand and supply-side interventions, to the problems
of water quantity, water quality and water supply;
• The demand for water may be reduced in all user sectors through a range of measures that
encourage efficient water use. These include implementing the pricing strategy for water use
charges prescribed in the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), promoting the use of water-
efficient technologies and practices, mandatory water auditing and accounting, and education
in water conservation and demand management.
• Water conservation measures such as clearing alien invasive vegetation from infested
catchments will increase the amount of surface water runoff and recharge to groundwater,
whilst water harvesting in agriculture and homes, especially those in rural areas, could reduce
reliance on supplemental irrigation by optimising the effectiveness of rainfall.
1.4.1 Progress
DWAF manages a number monitoring programs to assess the status of water resources in the
country, and has instituted a significant program of institutional reform to establish water
resources management at a catchment level. Water resources information structures in DWAF
are also adapting to this approach to provide an effective Water Resources Information Service to
the future decentralized institutional environment as a national service. The following have been
implemented:
• A total of 9 national water quality programs covering chemical, biological, toxicity and radio-
active contamination are operational, or being implemented. Results from these and other,
local monitoring programs (e.g. compliance monitoring) are maintained in a computerized
database for storage, dissemination and presentation, called the Water Management System.
Plans are underway to replace this database as the first module of a new Integrated Water
Resources Information System;
• A number of surface flow gauging stations are also in operation to monitor river flow and
reservoir status. The expansion of this program has received additional funding for this year
and the next three years. Surface flow and evaporation information is available on the
Internet from the Surface Flow Database. This service also includes 320 real time stations for
operational and disaster management purposes, as well as the database for the real time
network, covering all Southern African countries;
• The programs to monitor, register and license water uses in support of demand management
is also progressing well with related information maintained in the Water Authorization
Registration;
• A comprehensive GIS service for the water sector, including remote sensing and land
information services to support a variety of functions; and
Major expansions to the country’s river flow gauging infrastructure are required for the country to
come on par with international flow gauging standards. In addition, South Africa needs to
undertake consistent data collection throughout the country in which data from the local,
provincial and national monitoring programmes are integrated and made available to all water
resource management institutions.
Research is being undertaken by institutions such as the WRC and independent water
management institutions such as the WISA. South Africa realises the limits of this resources and
has developed much research into the sector. It is imperative that this research guides policies
and programmes implemented in the sector, to promote effective water resources management.
APRIL 2008 1
Table 2: South Africa’s contribution to meeting the targets of Chapter II of the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation (CSD-13)
South Africa has for several years been pursuing an Integrated Water
Resource Management Strategy to, inter alia, integrate sanitation into
8 (g) Integrate sanitation into water resources management strategies. water resources management strategies
APRIL 2008 5
Table 4: South Africa’s contribution to meeting the targets of Chapter IV of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
JPOI
ISSUE PROGRESS
Target
Through the very successful Masibambane Programme, South Africa has
Mobilize international and domestic financial resources at all succeeded to Mobilize international and domestic financial resources at all
levels, transfer technology, promote best practice and support levels, transfer technology, promote best practice and support capacity -
capacity -building for water and sanitation infrastructure and building for water and sanitation infrastructure and services development,
services development, ensuring that such infrastructure and ensuring that such infrastructure and services meet the needs of the poor
25 (a) services meet the needs of the poor and are gender-sensitive; and are gender-sensitive
These goals are being actively pursued b the South African Government,
and in Sanitation for example, stakeholder involvement at all levels have
Promote priority action by Governments, with the support of all been achieved through the National, Provincial and District Sanitation
stakeholders, in water management and capacity -building at the Task Team Structures (NSTT; PSTT; DSTT) that have been mandated to
national level and, where appropriate, at the regional level, and coordinate the provision of sustainable sanitation services to all
promote and provide new and additional financial resources and households and institutions.
25 (c) innovative technologies to implement chapter 18 of Agenda 21;
In addition, South Africa uses other alternative technologies of sanitation
APRIL 2008 6
Intensify water pollution prevention to reduce health hazards and South Africa has since the beginning of its Community Water Supply and
protect ecosystems by introducing technologies for affordable Sanitation Programme implementation I 1994 insisted on the performance
sanitation and industrial and domestic wastewater treatment, by of a Ground Water Protocol as part of the design of any sanitation project.
mitigating the effects of groundwater contamination and by Where it is found that traditional Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines (VIP)
establishing, at the national level, monitoring systems and effective cannot be used, alternative more ecological friendly solutions are required.
25 (d) legal frameworks;
Water is South Africa’s scarcest resource and it has long been recognised
that, despite the wishes of the population, waterborne sanitation services
Adopt prevention and protection measures to promote sustainable cannot be sustainable provided for all. Hence the massive focus on dry-o
25 (e) water use and to address water shortages. site sanitation solutions, such as the VIP.