WATER ISSUES
SA: A dry country, and getting drier
W
e live in a dry
country: we all
know that. Much
of South Africa is semi-desert,
and even the relatively lush
areas receive less rainfall than
the world average. And the
bad news? Our water issues
are going to become worse,
even critical, if we don't take
steps to rectify our wastefulness.
Specifically, water has always
been an important factor for
anyone in South Africa
involved in any form of
agriculture. The Highveld
receives between 380 and
760 mm of rain annually. The
average rainfall for the
country is 500mm per
annum, which is 60% of the
world average.
In Gauteng, municipalities
depend very much on the
transfer of bulk water from
wetter regions, and notably
from catchment schemes like
the Lesotho Highlands Water
Scheme. This is rapidly
becoming less efficient,
however, and greater
attention will have to be paid
to the management of
demand and more efficient
use of water – particularly
with meteorological factors
stacking up against us this
summer in the form of the El
Nino effect.
So it is important to understand the terminology used in
water issues.
The term “drought” is
probably more popularly
understood in South Africa as
having insufficient water to
undertake certain activities
which have come to be
accepted as "normal".
activities, will inevitably lead
to "drought", although this is
more an indication of unwise
farming than of unusual
weather.
“Water shortage” is used to
Much of Gauteng’s municipal water comes from the Katse Dam, part
of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project
Undertaking dryland cropping
in areas of the country where
the long term annual rainfall
is equal to or less than the
minimum required to
successfully sustain such
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describe an absolute shortage
where levels of available
water do not meet certain
defined minimum requirements. The actual quantity
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