Without significant changes in how water is managed, South Africa’s forecasted water deficit of 1.60-billion to 2.70-billion cubic metres by 2030 will continue increasing, impacting on investment, job creation and economic growth.
The National Infrastructure Plan 2050, published in March 2022, warns that addressing South Africa’s water management challenges will get ever-more challenging owing to growing water demand driven by economic growth, urbanisation and rising standards of living, suggesting a need to broaden South Africa’s water mix.
Creamer Media’s ‘Water 2023: South Africa’s looming crisis’ report considers these challenges in the context of the global state of water resources, focusing on the country’s water regulations, policies and planning. It examines some of the country’s most pressing issues, including supply and demand; the Blue, Green and No Drop reports, which monitor wastewater quality, drinking water quality and the status of water losses and nonrevenue water respectively; and the failure of local water services. The report also considers the financial health of the water sector and the impacts thereof. The report also looks at some of the water and sanitation projects that are under way that might help deal with South Africa’s dire water situation.