The biggest threat to South African water security is not the availability of water but the price of developing enough sources, according to Dr Beason Mwaka, a director at the Department of Water Affairs.
Mwaka was speaking on Wednesday, the first day of the 20th Waternet Symposium on the management of fresh water resources.
Since South Africa has been hit by severe drought and water restrictions which some feel is partly due to the mismanagement of infrastructure, Mwaka remarked that \”the theme of the symposium is very relevant to us in South Africa\”.
\”Our water resources are [in] remote places – it\’s not where you want or when you want it. So, we are going to develop infrastructure – dams, conveyer systems [and] pipelines.
\”Besides the development, half the water in quantity, even the quality, is not there. In Gauteng, what used to be ground water is now acid and the cost management is also difficult.
He added that as the need for water grows new alternatives need to be sought.
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