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WORLD WATER DAY-SOUTH AFRICA: Celebrations in the Midst of Crisis?

Analysis by Steven Lang

GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Mar 20 2008 (IPS) - South Africa is currently celebrating Water Week (Mar. 17-23) to coincide with World Water Day on Mar. 22. The week also coincides with a national crisis in confidence about the ability of government to provide citizens with safe drinking water.

Until the beginning of February this year, the term "national crisis" was not usually applied to the water sector in South Africa. There had been several localised crises, and many people were becoming uneasy about the perceived deterioration of water and sanitation services, but few would have described the problems as being countrywide.

However, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the leading opposition party, and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) – a statutory body created to protect the public against nuclear-related damage – then released critical reports to the media within a few weeks of each other. These documents, attacking different aspects of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry&#39s (DWAF) ability to perform adequately, provoked a spate of articles that made liberal use of the word "crisis" to describe the state of the country&#39s water supply system.

The NNR report alerted government to waste water that is seeping from the country&#39s extensive mining operations into the groundwater system. It said that vegetables and fish collected from river catchment basins close to the financial hub, Johannesburg, had been contaminated with radioactive uranium.

The DA report, titled &#39Storm Warning: A Looming Water Crisis&#39, noted that "A combination of polluted water sources and poor management of dams, sewerage works and treatment plants has led to a situation where our water supply is under serious threat."

Addressing those present at the launch of the report, the party&#39s spokesman on environmental issues, Gareth Morgan, accused the water affairs minister of ignoring the crisis: "It may be a case of denialism," he noted.

The DA report analyses the problems facing the water sector, and also contains a detailed list of proposed solutions to these problems.

According to the document, South Africa&#39s water problems fall into three categories.

In the first section, about water sources, the report blames bureaucratic infighting for what it describes as a "generalised official disregard for the environmental consequences of industrial activity." These comments apparently refer to a tug of war between DWAF on the one hand, and the Department of Minerals and Energy on the other, over the regulation of mining activities in environmentally sensitive areas.

The second section identifies poor management of the country&#39s dams as a critical factor in diminishing both the quantity and quality of the water available for consumption. It quoted Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Henricks, who has said that only 160 of the 294 dams owned and managed by her department complied with modern safety standards.

The third and final category of criticisms highlights the poor maintenance of municipal water and sewerage systems. Blame for this aspect of the water crisis cannot be attributed only to DWAF, because it does not have direct control over municipal infrastructure. The report says that most municipal sewerage systems in South Africa are 30 to 50 years old, "but few councils are doing anything more than band-aid maintenance."

The NNR and DA reports, coupled with an in-depth article in a widely-read weekly, the &#39Sunday Times&#39, about difficulties in the water sector, had a substantial effect on public perceptions of the water supply system – the gloom deepening at the prospect of a joint water and electricity crisis.

South Africa&#39s power utility, ESKOM, had warned government about power shortages now taking their toll across the country; but, the warnings went unheeded, plunging homes and businesses into regular black-outs. Many are now wondering if government is ignoring warnings about the water situation, opening the door to catastrophe in the months to come.

Minister Hendricks takes almost every opportunity available to her to insist that there is no crisis.

On Mar. 11, she dedicated an entire parliamentary address to allaying fears about a possible water crisis, implying that those who criticised her department had not got their facts straight.

"Misinformation will only create unnecessary panic and discontent, and I am sure that no one would desire that," Hendricks said. "Those who bandy about words like &#39crisis&#39 must surely have facts and information at their disposal before using such strong terms."

She further told parliament about plans to build several new water projects over the coming years. These include the construction of a major new dam to service the country&#39s industrial heartland, the Gauteng province, by 2019.

Hendricks acknowledged that South Africa is facing problems in the water sector, and gave brief overviews of how her department intends addressing these problems.

However, when referring to what is arguably the most serious problem in the sector – deficiencies at municipal waste water treatment plants – the minister deftly passed the buck. "The responsibility for the running of the waste water treatment plants rests with the municipalities," she said.

Hendricks concluded her address with a final attempt to reassure parliament and the nation that there is nothing to worry about in the water sector: "Our drinking water is safe and getting safer…Our planning is strong, and our dams are safe."

Soon after addressing legislators, the minister began a high-profile road show to promote Water Week.

The theme this year&#39s Water Week is &#39Sustaining lives, enabling growth&#39 and the aims of the campaign include making people aware of how important water is in their daily lives and why we should protect our rivers, lakes and dams.

Hendricks recently addressed 300 delegates at a water summit held just outside Johannesburg where she spoke about the country&#39s plans to ensure that water will be available well into the future.

At the same event she launched a campaign called Masimbambane, or "water for growth", in conjunction with the European Union, to fund additional water projects around the country.

Later that same day she joined large groups of school children at a science centre on the other side of the city to promote water awareness.

The main thrust of the public awareness campaign will have water affairs officials distributing Water Week information packs at most highway toll plazas on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and on the main highway to the eastern part of the country.