A measure of sustainability in the context of urban water management in South Africa

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of and measure the potential for sustainability in a South African urban water context. This was achieved through the use of a systems approach to develop and evaluate a composite index – the Sustainability Index for Integrated Urban Water Management (SIUWM) – based on a vision of what sustainable urban water management means to decision makers at selected local authorities around the country. The vision was expanded into a sustainability framework to identify suitable key indicators for the index, as well as those which link with existing regulatory measurement initiatives in the South African water sector. The hypothesis was that if a city improves its scores on all of its indicators over a period of time, there is potential for long-term sustainability in the specific urban water system. The SIUWM was applied as a ‘snapshot’ analysis to nine case study cities (using 2010 / 2011 figures) and the results highlighted the inherent strengths and weaknesses in the management of urban water in each city, and consequently across each dimension of sustainability. Regularly-updated and publicly-available quantitative data as well as qualitative information from interviews with municipal officials were used as input to the index. Key performance indicator scores from the Department of Water Affairs’ regulatory performance measurement systems were also used in the computation of the index scores. In this way the SIUWM was able to provide a detailed analysis which could be used over time to track changes in performance, establish goals and inform strategic processes to leverage support for improved water services. Through its visioning process, the SIUWM is also able to identify vulnerabilities in the water system and provide information that is potentially useful for mitigating the root causes of these vulnerabilities. Sustainability assessment in the urban water sector, by way of initiatives such as the SIUWM, is not only about taking stock of progress – it is also about identifying shortcomings and challenges so as to contribute to initiatives and policy-making aimed at achieving sustainability. By clarifying what sustainability constitutes in the context of urban water management in South Africa through the use of a multi-dimensional approach to sustainability assessment (as is achieved by way of the SIUWM), the mindsets of decision-makers can hopefully be successfully shifted to embracing a more integrated approach towards sustainable urban development and water sensitive cities

A Community of Practice Approach to Planning Water Sensitive Cities in South Africa

As South African cities urbanise alongside climate change, resource constraints, and socio-economic challenges, water sensitive (urban) design (WSD) is slowly gaining traction as a framework to address water security goals and entrench resilience. This article reflects on the progression of WSD in South Africa and discusses the broadening of its initial association with stormwater and physical infrastructure to include critical governance and institutional arrangements and social engagements at the core of a water sensitive transition. The approach is being adapted for the socio-economic challenges particular to South Africa, including basic urban water and sanitation service provision, WSD related skills shortages, a lack of spatial planning support for WSD, and the need for enabling policy. Since 2014, a national WSD Community of Practice (CoP) has been a key driver in entrenching and advancing this approach and ensuring that the necessary stakeholders are involved and sufficiently skilled. The WSD CoP is aimed at promoting an integrative approach to planning water sensitive cities, bridging the gaps between theory and practice and blending the social and physical sciences and silo divisions within local municipalities. Three South African examples are presented to illustrate the role of a CoP approach with social learning aspects that support WSD : (1) the "Pathways to water resilient South African cities" interdisciplinary project which shows the institutional (policy) foundation for the integration of WSD into city water planning and management processes; (2) the Sustainable Drainage Systems training programme in the province of Gauteng which demonstrates a skills audit and training initiative as part of an intergovernmental skills development programme with academic partners; and (3) a working group that is being established between the Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering which illustrates the challenges and efforts of key professions working together to build WSD capacity

Understanding the use and disposal of greywater in the non-sewered areas of South Africa

Includes bibliographical references.There is currently a strong drive from the South African government to attain adequate water and sanitation coverage throughout the country as a basic level of service. To meet this requirement the majority of authorities in urban and rural areas are implementing on-site dry latrines (VIPs or similar) and 25 litres of potable water per capita per day (lied) within a 200m eartage distance. The connection of low-income settlements to municipal water sources has subsequently occurred on a massive scale, frequently without giving adequate attention to greywater management in those areas that are non-sewered. Recent estimates show that there are approximately 20 million people in South Africa (SA) without access to on-site waterborne sanitation (Statistics South Africa, 2005). In the absence of suitable conveyance systems, greywater is generally disposed of onto the ground outside the dwellings and the resulting total pollution load, particularly from densely populated settlements, has the potential to create a host of environmental and health impacts. It is likely that the problems related to the disposal and management of greywater will increase as basic water and sanitation services are attained and improved, and solutions are therefore required to circumvent this. This thesis describes the results of a two-year investigation into the use and disposal of greywater in the non-sewered areas of SA. The main aim of the research was to quantify the greywater problem and develop options for the management thereof, both in terms of reducing health and environmental risks by eliminating inappropriate disposal of greywater, as well as possibly providing benefits to some communities through controlled use. Greywater is deï¬ ned as the wastewater that is produced from household processes (e.g. washing dishes, laundry and bathing) without input from toilets. Non-sewered areas are deï¬ ned as those areas without on-site waterborne sanitation. On-site surveys of selected communities in six of the nine provinces of SA (39 sites in total) were conducted through the use of standardised questionnaires to assess current greywater management and recycling activities. The total volume of greywater currently being generated in the non-sewered areas of South Africa has been estimated by applying an average factor of 75% to the amount of water consumed per household and multiplying this with the number of non-sewered households in each province (using modiï¬ ed Census 2001 ï¬ gures). It is estimated that a total volume of just over 490,0O0m3 per day of grey-water is generated in non-sewered areas on a daily basis in SA. This amounts to approximately 180 million m3 per year - equivalent in volume to a medium sized dam such as Voelvlei near Cape Town, or approximately 50% of the current annual water demand of this city. This illustrates the relatively limited potential for the use of greywater from non-sewered areas as an alternative water resource at a country-wide scale, and suggests that the main beneï¬ ts from greywater use in these areas will be from irrigation at household level to supplement nutrition requirements. On the other hand, these ï¬ gures highlight the fact that greywater disposal in non-sewered areas is likely to result in signiï¬ cant health and environmental impacts, particularly in dense urban environments where large volumes of greywater are generated in relatively small areas. Limited water quality sampling of typical greywater and source water was undertaken during the surveys to try and get a general understanding of the overall quality of the greywater emanating from non-sewered areas, particularly in respect of its nutrient loading and oxygen demand. The results suggested that greywater is generally unï¬ t for use except under controlled conditions. In particular, not enough is known at present about the health challenges that may be faced by the use of greywater for the irrigation of food crops, and the management of any recycling practice is therefore crucial. Unrestricted use of greywater without education on the risks involved and supervision of the practice to ensure adherence to safety precautions is likely to increase the disease burden on those who can least afford it. The determination of typical volumes of greywater generated per hectare for non-sewered settlements and the likely impact of changes in service levels with respect to water supply have been calculated by using average water consumption data determined from on-site surveys and updated settlement data from Census 2001. A model has been developed in which greywater management options for non-sewered areas are determined by way of a series of rule-based flow diagrams which raise relevant questions for each of the criteria in order to assess various alternatives for greywater management and disposal. Two main outputs have therefore resulted from the research; one at a strategic level and the other at an implementation level. Recommendations have been made to assist government policy makers in the development of strategies for the management of greywater, and greywater management options have been identiï¬ ed so that communities and municipal planners can implement the solutions required to reduce any negative impacts

A water sensitive urban design framework for South Africa

South Africa (RSA) is a ‘developing country’ still facing the challenge of providing basic water services to a significant proportion of the population. Water security is increasingly a matter of major concern, with most of the surface water resources fully accounted for and poor water quality downstream of urban areas. Whereas service delivery and social upliftment are high on the political agenda, the challenge is to promote economic and social equity, whilst simultaneously ensuring environmental sustainability; this challenge is greatest in the rapidly growing urban areas. Alternative approaches to conventional urban water management, which account for these water-supply and -quality constraints as well as the impacts of extreme weather-related events, are thus required. It is postulated that, from a water-management perspective, this will require strategic planning for the wide-scale implementation of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) – a systems-based approach that focuses on the interactions between the built form and water-resources management. This article describes a way forward for an integrated management (infrastructure and planning) approach for urban water. It defines what ‘water sensitivity’ might mean in the RSA context, and outlines the process that was followed to develop a framework and guidelines for implementing WSUD in South Africa. The four complementary components of the framework – research, vision, narrative, and implementation – highlight what will be required in order to manage the challenges facing the country’s urban water sector and enable the transition towards water sensitivity

Sustainable urban water management in Cape Town, South Africa: is it a pipe dream?

The City of Cape Town (South Africa) faces numerous challenges in respect of water supply, drainage and sanitation services. It is hypothesised that the potential for long term sustainability in urban water systems can be established through the application of a five component sustainability index. This paper describes the development of such an index, the “Sustainability Index for Integrated Urban Water Management” (SIUWM), for specific application to southern African cities. It reviews the results from initial testing of the index on Cape Town, discusses its usefulness in terms of sustainability assessment, and provides a way forward for continuation of the research. It concludes that, by drawing on the numerous connections that link the different aspects of urban water management, the SIUWM is able to highlight several critical areas of “unsustainability” in the City and shows that sustainability will remain a pipe dream if these challenges are not addressed systematically and urgently

Stormwater harvesting: Improving water security in South Africa’s urban areas

The drought experienced in South Africa in 2016 – one of the worst in decades – has left many urbanised parts of the country with limited access to water, and food production has been affected. If a future water crisis is to be averted, the country needs to conserve current water supplies, reduce its reliance on conventional surface water schemes, and seek alternative sources of water supply. Within urban areas, municipalities must find ways to adapt to, and mitigate the threats from, water insecurity resulting from, inter alia, droughts, climate change and increasing water demand driven by population growth and rising standards of living. Stormwater harvesting (SWH) is one possible alternative water resource that could supplement traditional urban water supplies, as well as simultaneously offer a range of social and environmental benefits. We set out three position statements relating to how SWH can: improve water security and increase resilience to climate change in urban areas; prevent frequent flooding; and provide additional benefits to society. We also identify priority research areas for the future in order to target and support the appropriate uptake of SWH in South Africa, including testing the viability of SWH through the use of real-time control and managed aquifer recharge

Approaching community-level greywater managementin non-sewered settlements in South Africa

This study investigates sustainable options for community-level management of greywater in low-income settlements without on-site waterborne sanitation in South Africa. As a consequence of the limited resource base of both the local authorities and the inhabitants of the settlements, these options need to be inexpensive, technologically simple and socially acceptable. A variety of social and technological options are thus being implemented in collaboration with the inhabitants and the local authorities, and their efficacy evaluated. The hypothesis is that involving the inhabitants in the development of solutions is likely to be more effective in the management of greywater in these settlements than the traditional approach where the local authorities provide rudimentary engineered services after minimal consultation. Following an initial scoping study that covered six of the nine provinces of South Africa, four settlements in the Western Cape Province were selected for a second, more detailed study. The study employs the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method which emphasises participation, collaboration and consensual decision-making with the goal of ensuring long term sustainability of social and technological interventions

Stimulating Demand for Research Evidence: What Role for Capacity?building?

There has been a great deal of interest in recent years in supporting evidence?informed policymaking in developing countries. In particular, there have been efforts to build the capacity of researchers and research intermediaries to supply appropriately packaged research information (for example in the form of policy briefs) to policymakers. While supply of research information is important, it will only be used to inform policy if it is accessed, valued and understood by policymakers. In this article, we discuss our understanding of demand for research from policymakers; the capacities which underlie it; and how these might be supported

Living the life of floods: place-based learning in an Anthropocene harmscape

This article explores how place-based learning and the development of landscape literacies unfold in a place suffused with a complex set of risks resulting from inter-operating and intersecting sociohistorical, political and environmental factors. By analysing assemblages of images and accompanying texts produced through a photovoice process undertaken by co-researchers in an informal settlement in South Africa’s Cape Flats, we show that residents are embedded in an ongoing process of embodied place-connectedness that has extensive pedagogical impact. We suggest that the learning that takes place in this harmscape may enable residents’ survival at the cost of allowing for either hope or the possibility of transformative change