Transcript Water for the Environment (Wilma Kloppers - DWAF)

Wilna Kloppers
DEPARTMENT OF WATER AFFAIRS AND
FORESTRY - WESTERN CAPE REGION
[email protected]
Aspects of this Presentation








Global perspective
Climate change
Water and the Economy and Services
Water Quality
Millenium Development Goals
IWRM and the National Water Act
River Health Programme
Local Context
Water on Earth
Total volume of 534 million km3
 97% oceans, only 3% fresh water
 Of the fresh water: 79% ice caps &
glaciers, 20% groundwater, 1% accessible
surface water
 Of surface water: 52% lakes, 38% soil
moisture, 8% atmospheric vapour, 1%
rivers and 1% water in living organisms

The Water Cycle
Water Cycle

Crucial to life and for the ecological balance
of our planet
BUT

Excessive consumption of fresh water
together with careless disposal of waste
water and interfering with natural
ecosystems threatens the viability of the
water cycle and in turn every living thing on
the planet!
Water Cycle

On a global average most freshwater
withdrawals are used for agriculture (69%)
followed by industry (23%) and municipal
use (8%)
 In SA 59% of water is used for irrigation, 25%
for urban use, 4% for rural use, 6% for
mining and industrial, 2% for power
generation and 4% for afforestation
Climate change





SA average annual rainfall 450mm compared
to world average of 860mm
Global climate change is a reality and
serious threat to sustainable development
Impacts on water availability as well as water
quality
Estimated that agricultural production in
sub-Saharan Africa could fall 33% in next 5060 years
Coastal fishery output, especially along West
Coast could drastically decrease due to
warmer currents
Managing Climate Change





IWRM helps to protect water resource,
secures future food supply & avoids
potential regional conflict
Provides food security by facilitating
agricultural production
Manage use to maintain water cycle –
preserve resource & biodiversity
Minimise damage caused by flooding to
infrastructure, homes & informal settlements
Minimise insect- and waterborne diseases
Water and Health

Water-borne diseases develop more readily
in instances of reduced flow
 In developing countries 80% of all illnesses
are caused by water-borne diseases with
Diarrhoea the leading cause of childhood
death
 Malaria kills more than a million people
every year and costs Africa more than R84
billion in lost GDP
Water and the Economy

Water is critical to all sectors of the
economy: agriculture, forestry, mining,
power generation, bulk storage, recreation &
provision of urban and rural water services
 Economic value of water is measured by the
number & value of jobs created by the water
use or the amount of revenue generated
 Also provide other services that are often not
included in economic valuation.
Water Resource Services
Services and benefits provided by aquatic
ecosystems:






Supply of good quality water
Transport and/or purification of
biodegradable wastes
Recreation and aesthetic opportunities
Food production
Flood attenuation and regulation
Water-based transport
Groundwater





Strategically valuable resource
Less affected by droughts
Recharge cycle on a much longer time-scale
More protected storage than surface water
Value linked to dependency – high
dependency means no alternative resource
Estuaries

SA has 255 estuaries (river mouths) along
3100km of coastline
 Contribute to recreational and subsistence
fisheries
 Act as nursery areas for numerous species
of fish
 Impacted by urban development and
domestic and industrial use
Wetlands

Areas that are seasonally or permanently
inundated or saturated with water
 Protect water resources through flood
control, water storage, stream-flow
regulation, drought relief, soil erosion
protection and wildlife protection
 Impacted by inappropriate urban and
agricultural development and pollution
Availability and Water Quality

SA is an arid country with only 8,6% of
rainfall available as surface water
 Water availability will become a restriction on
future socio-economic development
 Therefore, good quality of critical importance
 Water quality influenced by natural
processes as well as human activities such
as farming, urban and industrial
development, mining and recreation
Water Quality Problems






Salinisation – excess salt from natural
(geological) causes & human activities
Eutrophication – enrichment with nutrients N
and P from fertilisers and sewage effluent
and causes algal and weed growth
Micro-pollutants – mostly metals and
pesticides from industrial & mining activities
Microbiological - contamination with faecal
material
Erosion and sedimentation – loss of fertile
agricultural soil, loss of reservoir storage
etc.
Significantly increases treatment costs
Unhealthy conditions as a result of inadequate
services
The UN Millenium Development Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality & empower
women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other
diseases
Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Develop a global partnership for
development
Environmental Sustainability

Natural water systems can experience severe
floods and droughts and still recover to their
original state
 If over-used (over abstraction, pollution,
physical destruction) this resilience is lost
and the capacity to meet human demands is
reduced or lost
 Aim to balance water use with protection in
such a way that water resources are not
degraded beyond recovery
 For both current and future generations
What is IWRM

“IWRM is a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of
water, land and related resources, in order to
maximise the resultant economic and social
welfare in an equitable manner without
compromising the sustainability of vital
ecosystems.”
(Global Water Partnership, 2000).
National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998)
The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the
nation’s water resources are
 protected,
 used,
 developed,
 conserved,
 managed and
 controlled,
in accordance with the National Water
Resource Strategy
IWRM and the National Water Act





Resource Protection – reserve (basic human
needs + ecological), classification & RQO
Establish Water Management Strategies and
Water Management Institutions
Authorising water use
Implementing a National Pricing Strategy
including Waste Discharge Charges
Establishing a National Monitoring System
and a National Information System
River Health Programme
Purpose: to gather information on the
ecological state of rivers in South Africa
Method: use indicators to measure current
ecological status
Indicators provide holistic and integrated
measure of integrity and health of the river
Riparian
vegetation
Macroinvertebrates
Fish
RIVER HEALTH PROGRAMME CONCEPTS
Aquatic invertebrates
South African
Scoring System
(SASS)
Natural
Fish Communities
Fish Assemblage
Integrity Index
(FAII)
Riparian vegetation
Riparian vegetation
index
(RVI)
No measurable modification
Good
Biodiversity largely unmodified
Fair
Sensitive species lost or less abundant
Poor
Population dynamics disrupted
River Health
Programme –
Example of
River
Assessments
Olifants-Doring
WMA
Olifants
Doring
Sandveld
Knersvlakte
Kouebokkeveld
Major Impacts





Over-abstraction of surface and groundwater
Modified flow (impoundments)
Farming activities
Alien invasive plant infestation
Invasive alien fish species threaten
indigenous fish species
 Nutrient enrichment from fertilizers and
return flows
 Overgrazing
 Erosion & sedimentation of river banks
Examples of land-use activities
Management Actions









Reduce cumulative effect of small farm dams
Investigate environmental flow releases from
water supply scheme
Improve regulation of abstraction – surface &
groundwater
Clearing of alien vegetation
Improve condition of riparian zones
Manage sanctuaries for indigenous fish
Re-instate wetlands
Limit mining & infrastructural development in
riparian zone
Manage water quality
We all live downstream
Project proposals address the issues






Olifants River Wetland and Environmental
awareness
Clearing Alien Invasive Plants
Olifants River Health and Conservation
Waste Recycling
River and Environment Clean-up
Groundwater Protection and Climate Change
Monitoring
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Water is life – Water is life
Acknowledgements

G McConkey

T Nyamande