More research, especially on ground water, is important if water crisis in Cape Town is to be tackled says Dr Kevin Winter of the Environmental and Geographical Sciences department at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Also read:South Africa’s Western Cape mulls desalination to tackle water shortage
Dr Winter is hopeful about the new Future Water Institute at UCT, which will be dedicated to solving water problems in the country.
“In my opinion, the technical is easy; the socio-political issues of access and justice are the really difficult challenges. So it’s important to get people across these disciplines talking to each other, and talking with respect to each other.”
Earlier this month, Cape Town dam’s water levels were said to be holding only 36% of their total water capacity. This is nearly a 7% decrease from this time last year. Any level below 20% cannot be pumped out.
As the city continues to implement more severe restrictions, residents have taken it upon themselves to call radio stations to offer their solutions while some complain about uncooperative neighbours.
However much the ongoing argument on the largest water consumers is important, there should also be a discussion of long-term strategies for dealing with water shortages.
The discussion will come in handy in tackling the current drought which seems not to be the last of the city’s water crisis.
Rain eventually lessened the situation although this year there is a lot left to chance. This is after research showed that the rain is now falling in a different pattern and a lot later in the winter period.
The dry periods are also longer, with meteorological events further causing shorter periods of rainfall. This makes rainfall prediction hard.
Water management is being made harder by the growing population and city expansion. The inevitable leaks in the piping makes the use of water over long distances inefficient. On the other hand, Winter says that the move by the city could be a little too late, saying that the restrictions could have been imposed and maintained earlier.
Cape Town is heavily reliant on the dams for water. The dams are said to lose 1% of their water twice in a month due to evaporation and as climate changes to bring windier and warmer weather the evaporation rates will become higher.
Desalination as a possible solution is still being frowned upon. Winter sights capturing of storm water as well as capturing of rain water during the winter season as cheaper and simpler. It is also ecologically sensitive.
