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Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources globally. In Africa, particularly, groundwater has been the most reliable water supply option for meeting the daily water needs of rural communities. This is mainly due to the fact that most rural communities are geographically located in hard to reach areas due to their dispersed nature and bad terrain. In South Africa, these conditions have made it particularly expensive and difficult for water service providers to effect services to rural communities. It is estimated that there is still about two million people, mostly residing in rural communities, in South Africa without access to basic water services. Such communities have no option but to rely on hand-dug wells and springs for their daily water needs. It is further estimated that about 80% of South Africa's rural communities depend on groundwater sources for survival. Rural communities regard springs as a sustainable and reliable means of obtaining water compared to formal water supply from the relevant service providers. However, the challenge is that water service providers disregard springs and consider them insufficient for water service delivery. This situation often leaves communities to have to struggle to maintain these sources by themselves with no support from relevant authorities. Furthermore information on the use of springs is not documented; hence no data is available on the quantities of water being abstracted on a daily basis. In a water scarce country such as South Africa this is a serious concern which contributes to unmanaged and uncontrolled abstraction and/or dewatering of the aquifers. Consequently, boreholes, wetlands and springs are drying up, new sites are explored and the cycle continues. This lack of data means that incorrect data sets are being used and incorrect assumptions are being made about groundwater use and sustainability. In addressing this issue, South Africa's Groundwater strategy puts emphasis on measures to improve awareness and knowledge of the importance of and potential of groundwater resources. Increasing research and documenting case studies demonstrating the use and importance of groundwater in rural communities is therefore critical objective of this strategy. In addition to showcasing the use of springs, the study advocates for springs to be formally recognized and recorded as a formal water supply alternative especially for communities where springs are considered a significant resource. In this way spring water sources can be incorporated in the planning of water services such that formal support can be allocated to communities relying on springs. This will ensure that communities still consume water of acceptable quality which will help improve on health, reduce poverty rates and address water service backlogs. This study uses two rural communities in South Africa as case studies to document the use of springs; through mapping spring water sources, understanding the extent of the use as well as the importance of such sources. The study will also show that conducting regular mapping of water points, irrespective of the source can provide valuable source of information to water service providers in achieving the important goal of scaling-up water services and ensuring sustainability and ultimately improving water service backlogs. Such information will further improve the planning and design of rural water supply schemes in the rural areas especially where springs are a significant resource.
This book investigates the effective demand for rural water supply in South Africa, considering the application of a demand-responsive approach in order to improve project sustainability. The study was conducted as an Individual Research Project at WEDC in 1998, part of the author's MSc programme in Technology and Management for Rural Development.
This book is designed to assist those responsible for planning, implementing and supporting rural water supply prograames to increase sustainability.
Water Management in Africa and the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities
One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for water use and in the provision of free basic water. Over ten years of implementation of these policy and legislative changes mean that valu­able lessons have already been learned and useful experiences gained in the challenge of effective water resources management and water services provision in a middle income country.
Water Supply of South Africa and Facilities for the Storage of It is a comprehensive study of the water supply system of South Africa, with a particular focus on the storage facilities that were used to address the challenges posed by the country's arid climate. This book is an important resource for engineers and policy makers working on water system design and management. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.