PRESENTATION TITLE Presented by: Name Surname Directorate Date Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation An Overview of Drought Management in the Country Date: 11 November 2015

The Importance of Water – “THE” critical resource South African climate is a highly variable Water is naturally scarce in SA: limited freshwater resources Water is a critical resource for growth & development To date, water managers have successfully supported a strong economy and ongoing socio-economic growth To maintain the water balance, SA needs: – Ensure that water remains high on the national agenda – “smart” water management – all citizens/users to understand & appreciate the importance of water and work together to deal with the current drought conditions being experienced currently across six Provinces – all stakeholders to participate in active water management – Strengthen the leadership role of Government and governance functions – Additional water resource development, inter-basin transfers and regional bulk water distribution infrastructure 2

Shared Water Courses Four of our major river systems with six immediate neighbouring countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The total area covered by these four shared catchments in South Africa is equal to about 60% of our surface area and the mean annual flow from these rivers amounts to about 40% of the our total average river flow. These areas support ± 70% of gross domestic product and similar proportion of population. In order to regulate the use of water from these rivers, a number of bilateral and multi-lateral commissions and committees have been established between South Africa and its neighbours. South Africa is also party to the international convention that relates to shared water course management. 3

4 International Rivers shared by South Africa 4

Note skewed distribution of rainfall, which increases eastwards while evaporation rates increase westwards National Rainfall and Evaporation 5

Limited Water Resource Potential 6

Development of major water resource projects since 1994 Water Security _DG Nandoni Dam - completed De Hoop Dam - completed Inyaka Dam - completed Spring Grove Dam - completed Berg River Dam - completed Raising of Clanwilliam Dam – under implementation Vioolsdrift Dam – under planning LHWP 2 (Polihali Dam) – under implementation To use Increasing Return Flows in Crocodile (West) River System To increase transfers from Luvuvhu/Letaba Raising Tzaneen Dam & Constructing Nwamitwa Dam Maguga & Driekoppies Dams - completed uMkhomazi Water Project (Smithfield Dam & tunnel) – under planning Hazelmere Dam Raising- under implementation LHWP 1 (Katse & Mohale Dams) - completed Mzimvubu Water Project (Ntabelanga & Lalini Dams) – under implementation Water Balance 7

Current water resources mix At 98% assurance level of supply RSA’s water use is constituted of: – 77% surface resources – 9% ground water – 14% return flows – Desalination < 1% This water mix needs to be altered in future by increased use of currently under-utilized water resources such as groundwater, re-use of water, desalination, rainwater and fog harvesting 8

Water Use per economic sector 2.5% 2% 2.5% 3% 27% 60% Agriculture: irrigation Agriculture: Stock water/ Nature conservation Mining Power generation Municipal Urban = 24% Rural = 3% Industry Afforestation 9

National Water Resources Strategy Fresh (surface) water resource at its limit in many catchments Sufficient potential water available through improved efficiency and water loss management, re-use, local resource optimisation including groundwater, improved resource use control, resource protection, desalination, transfers, system operation optimisation However, accessibility to adittional water is conditional and at a cost: Requires effort and timeous implementation of interventions Spatial requirement and availability challenges User sector viability challenges Water quality and habitat integrity a major concern; Need to “stretch” available water, funding and existing infrastructure; Major social, economic, environmental risks if not addressed properly. 10

Water Use Efficiency Competition for scarce water resources is increasing between all water use sectors, i.e. agriculture, industry, power generation, mining, commercial, domestic and environment All Reconciliation Strategies for Metros as well as for All Towns and villages in SA state that Water Conservation and Water Demand Management shall be the first intervention to implement in every water use sector to reduce needs It is generally the most cost-effective intervention to implement to postpone the need for constructing expensive new infrastructure 11

Reconciliation Strategies: Water Resource Stressed Towns 12 30% require urgent water resource security intervention 12

Water Quality It is essential that water be of appropriate quality for intended uses. Deteriorating water quality is a major threat in RSA and can render water unfit for use Main sources of impact on water quality are: – discharge of urban and industrial effluent to rivers – high salinity irrigation return flows – wash-off and leachate from mining operations – wash-off from areas with insufficient sanitation Increasing water use leads to increasing pollution of the water resources through return flows Proper effluent treatment and disposal becomes crucial Effluent disposal strategies are a critical elements in water resource management that need to be developed by all municipalities Optimal implementation of the recommendations of the Green and Blue Drop assessments 13

12 Month Standard Precipitation Index 14

Rainfall Forecast 15

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Disaster risk planning revolves around the identification of preventative measures, early warning systems and contingency planning. Various long term strategies are being considered as preventative and preparedness measures. Drought is a natural phenomina which is also impacted by climate change and El Nino Important possible interventions that could be implemented in the medium-longer term are: In response to the potential hydrological impacts of the drought (and floods which inevitably follow the drought), the Department has devised various mitigation measures/strategies, including inter alia: – improvement of operating rules for dams to deal with droughts (and attenuate floods ) – improvement of the early warning systems, – redesigning spillways; – where feasible storing excess overland running water underground (ground water recharge eg: Langebaan Aquifer, Polokwane Sand River Aquifer) – harvesting rainwater; – managing water demands – encouraging the nation to use water sparingly – Engagement with neighbouring countries: shared water courses. General Drought/(Flood) Mitigation measures 17

Provinces Affected by the Drought Limpopo Kwazulu Natal Mpumalanga Free State Northern Cape North West Gauteng (stress on the supply systems due to high demand and current high temperatures) 18

Mitigation Measures to ensure water security in dealing with the Drought Water conservation and water demand management (War on Leaks) Surface water resource management (Optimised the operation of the Vaal River System) Managing and use of groundwater resources (drilling and equipping additional boreholes) Re-use and desalination of water (Mossel Bay, Sedgefield, Bitterfontein) Eradication of invading alien plants/catchment care (WfW) Eradication of illegal water use (Enforcement in the Vaal River System) Development of surface water resources (Hazelmere and Clanwilliam, Tzaneen) Transfer of water (LHWP Ph 2, emergency transfer Tugela to Goedetrouw, Othangathi River transfer to Hazelmere) Rainwater harvesting (provision of tanks in selected areas) 19

Why is the Vaal River System so important Supply water to 60% of economy, 45% of population Mines and industries on Eastern Mpumalanga Highveld Bulk of Eskom’s coal fired power stations Gauteng NW and FS goldfields Kimberley Large irrigation schemes System in deficit due to unlawful use (masked by full dams) 20

Vaal River System 21

Tugela Vaal Transfer System 22

Driekloof and Sterkfontein Dam 23

Conclusions The following main conclusions can be derived from the analysis: The meteorological and hydrological drought could cause a socio- economic drought which could severely impact the agriculture industry of the certain Provinces such as Kwazulu-Natal, Free State and others where economies are reliant on agriculture exports. According to the drought indicators and current dam levels, some areas of the South Africa are experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. Drought conditions have spread throughout South Africa and are affecting more than one Province. Conditions of drought are evident in various parts of South Africa There are measures put in place to alleviate dire situations and there will be continuous monitoring and assessment of the situation 24

25 THANK YOU!