JOHN YELD

SOUTH Africa’s water demand is projected to outstrip available supply somewhere between 2025 and 2030, and pollution remains a significant threat to the country’s water resources.

The warning comes in this year’s Budget documents, which also point out that adequate access is only one part of the water equation and that water supply must also adhere to quality standards.

While 97 percent of SA’s drinking water meets minimum standards, only 71 percent of wastewater complies with standards, and is showing signs of further deterioration.

The Department of Water Affairs has a budget allocation of R8.8 billion for 2012/13, rising to R10.7bn in 2014/15.

Acid mine drainage is identified as a major problem in the Budget documents.

It had become more severe in recent years, particularly in three of the mining basins of Gauteng, and could impact negatively on the overall water security in this already water-scarce region.

The documents noted the government had put aside R443 million for short-term interventions to tackle acid mine drainage in Gauteng, but indicated that the department’s water sector management spend had already peaked and that the allocation for this sector is to drop over the next three years.

Service providers had been procured to identify sustainable institutional models for a long-term solution to the problem.

Other tasks to be tackled by the department include a revision of the national water strategy that describes how water resources will be protected, used, managed and conserved. Also, the water pricing strategy will be reviewed next year.

The department is currently managing and/or overseeing 151 water and wastewater infrastructure projects, including two “mega infrastructure” projects and five “large infrastructure” projects that are in various stages of completion.

The two mega projects are the Olifants River water resources development project in Mpumalanga and Limpopo that includes the new R3.1bn De Hoop Dam and bulk raw water distribution systems, expected to cost R13.1bn; and a R2.9bn dam safety rehabilitation project for the department’s 315 dams.