Class Notes Cape Town Day Zero Case Study IB Geography
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Module
Geography
Institution
Sixth Year / 12th Grade
Detailed notes on the management of water in the Cape Town 'Day Zero' water crisis, ideal for including in IB Geography (Unit 3: Resource Consumption) essays, exams and other assignments. Important facts and statistics needed for exams and essays are also included. Mitigation schemes and consequenc...
Location – Cape Town Country – South Africa Development Indicator - MIC
Situation (Causes and Impacts)
- The water crisis in South Africa can likely be attributed to economic (a lack of investment),
as well as physical (a lack of rain) water scarcity.
- Water consumption from across sectors, be it residential, business have increased
- Almost 25-30% of water in South Africa is being lost due to water leaks caused by failing
infrastructure
- It is estimated that 70 million litres of treated, clean, drinkable water is lost daily as a result
of the thousands upon thousands of leaks that characterize South Africa’s water piping
system.
- South Africa is already a normally arid locale, with an average yearly rainfall almost half the
global average and ranked 29th driest out of 193 nations.
- Since 2015, South Africa has experienced record-low levels of precipitation, likely the result
of anthropogenic climate change.
- A study completed by researchers at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of
Global Change, International Food Policy Research Institute, and CGIAR found that there was
a chance greater than 50% that South Africa’s mid-century temperatures would experience
a threefold increase over the current climate’s variability range, meaning whatever
temperature changes South Africa experiences will likely be 3 times higher than normal.
Impacts:
- The Cape Town water crisis nearly left the South African economic hub completely without
water.
- To quell water usage, car washes, swimming pools, and fountains were all banned, residents
were told to consume no more than 50 litres per household, and new strict agricultural water
quota limits were put in place.
- The city had become so hopelessly desperate that officials were encouraging residents to
shower for no more than 2 minutes, to recycle and reuse greywater, and to flush their toilets
only when absolutely necessary.
- The water risk is also likely to result in a number of socio-political events that could well
destabilize the local, provincial or national government. Such events include:
o Civil unrest and instability: Water stress can spark civil unrest over water
availability and quality or government water management practices.
o Water stress can lead to emergence of a “black market” for water: In
Zimbabwe and Kenya, a black-market water has emerged in part due to government
failure to extend water infrastructure into poor areas. These water black markets are
unregulated, leaving vendors open to selling contaminated water and increasing the
cost of water at their will.
o When mechanisms for resolving water conflict at the local level break
down, disputed over water can turn violent. Prominent examples of localized
conflicts are those between herding communities clashing violently with local
farming communities over land. Localized violence has the potential to escalate
internationally if water resources are shared across state borders.
- This imbalance in the population-water resources equation has adverse impacts on domestic
hygiene, public health, and cost of domestic water.
- On the social side, water scarcity adversely impacts job opportunities, farm incomes,
credibility and reliability of agricultural exports, and the ability of the vulnerable to meet the
cost of domestic water.
- Economically, the adverse impact is displayed in the loss of production of goods, especially
agricultural goods, the loss of working hours because of the hardships society faces as a
result of water scarcity.
- Dysfunctional sanitation in urban slums, deteriorating water quality in river catchments and
, aquifers, and extensive biodiversity loss are critical warning signals that conventional urban
water management is ill-suited to address water security concerns.
CONSEQUENCES OF THIS WATER SCARCITY RISK
- Low agricultural outputs
o Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts on
precipitation, especially increases in the irregularity of rainfall.
o Their existing coping responses and strategies are likely to prove inadequate to deal
with major shifts in rainfall timing and volumes.
o This then leads to a situation where food security for billions is threatened. Water
has a huge impact on food production. These challenges have been exacerbated by
climate change. Climate change will make extreme weather events, such as drought,
more frequent and intense, and less predictable, as time goes by. This will lead to
less predictable access to water for agriculture and food production in many parts of
South Africa.
o The climate crisis must be addressed now before critical tipping points for rain-fed
agriculture induced by heat stress and water shortages have been reached.
- Water scarcity increases water prices
o Inadequate water management and distribution is driving shifts toward making
water even more expensive through full-cost pricing policies with the aim of
incentivizing users to use water more efficiently, a situation that is affecting the
poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
o This is consistent with ill-advised measures from the government that prioritize
mining and other water-heavy industrial processes over the individual’s right to have
water access at all times.
- Increasing poverty and inequality
o Lack of safe water and poverty are mutually reinforcing; access to consistent
sources of clean water is crucial to poverty reduction.
o Time spent gathering water or seeking safe sanitation accounts for a lot of lost
economic opportunities. Access to safe water and sanitation at home turns time
spent into time saved, giving families more time to pursue education and work
opportunities that will help them break the cycle of poverty.
o Without clean water, you can’t stay healthy. If you can’t stay healthy, you can’t go to
work or school. You can’t build a home. You can’t grow food, and you can’t provide
for your family.
- Gender inequality
o Women are disproportionately affected by the water crisis, as they are often
responsible for collecting water. This takes time away from work, school, and caring
for the family. The lack of water and sanitation locks women in a cycle of poverty.
o Empowering women is critical to solving the water crisis. When women have access
to safe water at home, they can pursue more beyond water collection and their
traditional roles. They have time to work and add to their household income.
- Water supply shortages could cause potential loss of electricity generation
capacity
o Woefully underappreciated, is the fact that water and energy oftentimes compete
with one another.
o South Africans consume vast amounts of water to generate energy, and we consume
vast amounts of energy to extract, process, and deliver clean water.
o With increasing frequency, we value energy production over water protection.
o This collision between energy and water – combined with the urgent need to reduce
our global carbon footprint is constantly manifesting.
o These competing issues are intertwined in for example one way: the electric power
industry uses vast amounts of water overall, but there are wide disparities in water
usage between different types of power production.
o For example, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar typically use low
amounts of water compared to coal, and biofuels.
o Hydropower plants are also at increased risk due to decreases or changes in water
flow caused by climate change. Hydropower generation is likely to be most directly
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