Comment on: National Water Resource Strategy

30 October 2012

Patrick Dowling

Work of Water Officials

• Integrity• Transparency• Energy• Commitment• Expertise

10 core strategies

Development state

Water policy in a developmental state

• important that good intentions carry through into technical strategies

• Involve people in decision making processes• Share benefits and responsibilities wrt water

NDP

• Widespread unemployment• Ailing infrastructure• Low standards of education• Exclusion of the poor from mainstream development• A resource dependent economy• A failing public health system with a large disease burden• Inept public service provision• Widespread corruption• Societal divisions

Equitable growth and development

• Combating mining legacies• Finite amount of water• Public credibility• Cleaner technologies• Rain water harvesting

Green economy• Investments in both public and private sectors,

provide the mechanism for the reconfiguration of businesses, infrastructure and institutions, and for the adoption of sustainable consumption and production processes.

• Greater efficiency in the use of energy, water, and materials is a core objective i.e. achieving the same economic output (and level of well-being) with far less material input.

• The kilowatt-hour (symbolized kWh) is a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt (1 kW) of power expended for one hour (1 h) of time.

• A heater rated at 1000 watts (1 kilowatt), operating for one hour uses one kilowatt hour

Justice and equitability

• DWA alignment with other depts• Job creation and livlihoods• Infrastructure maintenance

Protecting water ecosystems

• Climate Change• AMD• Fracking precaution• WWTW priority• Dry sanitation technologies research• Water and ecosystem services

Climate Change

• The need for Climate Change action and overall resource management and protection is geared to accelerate the pace of green job creation and overall green investments in the years ahead.

Water as a planetary boundary

Global human water consumption = 2600 cubic Kms p.a

Available global fresh water = 4000 cubic Kms p.a

Smarter governance

• Informed public participation in CMAs• DWA veto on other department water claims• Water responsibility education • Equitable share correctly spent

CMAs

• number reduction regrettable • further from ordinary people• ensure that the catchment forums have teeth• accessible spaces for civil society

Sustainable Businesses

• Pricing• Equitable share for other species• Emphasis on maintenance and high priority

infrastructure

Water rights of other species

Water sector investment

• Publically accessible budgets• Non-revenue water• Realistic allocations to sorting problems like

AMD

Water resource stretching

• Precautionary approach new water• Increasing respect for current water use • Grey water reuse• Compliance from bottom to top

Water use efficiency

• CS participation• Penalty tariffs high end• Support for urban and rural subsistence

farming• Training• Leak fixing

Private Sector

• Must be transparent• Information for public easily accessible• Close observance of the UN CEO mandate

Strategic Water Partnership

• Coke• Pepsi• Nestle• WWF

The UN CEO Water Mandate elements

1. Direct Operations2. Supply Chain and Watershed Management3. Collective Action4. Public Policy5. Community Engagement6. Transparency