Civil Engineering June 2021 | Vol 29 No 5

Sec t i on Header Le t ter from the ed i to S ince 2015 the Eastern Cape has been battling one of the worst droughts in its history. Persistent low rainfall has had severe negative economic impacts on the province which was declared a disaster area in 2019. Fast forward to 2021 and the region is in a desperate situation. When I interviewed Barry Martin, Director: Water & Sanitation at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, late last year he confirmed that, for all intents and purposes, Day Zero had already arrived, with the city facing a significant daily water deficit. Despite efforts by Martin and his team to reduce non-revenue water, imple- ment a pressure management programme, augment supply, and encourage reduced consumption, the situation has worsened. Recent reports indicate that the dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay have reached a combined capacity of less than 12%. A report by HeraldLIVE states that the municipality now intends to slash the budgets of several of its critical departments in an effort to free up more than R500 million for drought-mitigation efforts and water services. The national and provincial government has also come under fire for lack of assistance to the municipality. With Nelson Mandela Bay’s dam levels lower than the 13.5% Cape Town classified as its Day Zero number, the reality is that the region could very well run out of water entirely. THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION While the Eastern Cape drought has certainly made headlines, it does not appear to have received the same press coverage or captured that same level of national interest as the Cape Town situation did a few years ago. We must ask ourselves why this is the case. One possibility could be the well-executed communications campaign carried out by the City of Cape Town under the leader- ship of then Director of Water and Sanitation, Peter Flower. When I discussed Cape Town’s drought response with him back in 2019, Peter explained that communication formed an essential part of reducing consumption. A variety of platforms were used, and various industry sectors approached to become a part of the solution – it was vital that communications targeted all sectors of Cape Town’s diverse population. A key move by the City was to provide citizens with technical information. Another success was the City Water Map, which graphically indicated consumption per erf. According to Peter, this had a huge impact because it introduced a peer pressure element and created healthy competition among residents to reduce their consumption. A NATIONAL WARNING The situations in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape call into question South Africa’s water security as a nation. Those working in the water sector are likely familiar with government’s National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NW&SMP) which has long warned of a projected 17% water deficit by 2030. Municipalities are losing about 1 660 million m³ per year through non-revenue water. At a unit cost of R6/m³ this amounts to R9.9 billion each year. The NW&SMP also states that R33 billion more is needed each year for the next 10 years to achieve water security. Given that government is aware of the dire state of South Africa’s water infrastructure and looming water crisis, why is there no national campaign to reduce water consumption? In an article on page 24 of this issue of Civil Engineering , Mike Muller highlights Gauteng’s growing water shortage. He aptly points out that, “People will not change their behaviour unless they are told what is happening and how to avoid a crisis.” Cape Town proved this to be true and underscored the power of effective communication in changing people’s behaviour. Perhaps then it is time for South Africa’s water sector to place increased emphasis on the need to reduce national water consumption. If further action is not taken, many more regions may face the same fate as those that have gone before them. Danielle Petterson Editor: Civil Engineering danielle@saice.org.za Let’s talk water security When Cape Town issued a warning of ‘Day Zero’ – the day the city would turn off water supply to its residents – it made international headlines. Why then, at a time when the Eastern Cape is in a more dire situation, have so many of us forgotten about the looming possibility of insufficient water supply? Recent reports indicate that the dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay have reached a combined capacity of less than 12%. A report by HeraldLIVE states that the municipality now intends to slash the budgets of several of its critical departments in an effort to free up more than R500 million for drought- mitigation efforts and water services. The national and provincial government has also come under fire for lack of assistance to the municipality. Civil Engineering June 2021 9