EQUITABLE ACCESS
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• Quantity affected by illegal abstraction (farmers) and other users from the Vaal River System (VRS) • Quality of water threatened by pollution, illegal discharges and the destruction of river catchments In this context the provision of water supply cannot be separated from the effective management of water resources for other, economic purposes. This requires the creative management and use of water that will be vital to assure the continuous supply of water in an effective and sustainable manner. Are we currently managing our water resources in a sustainable manner to ensure that we have enough water supply by 2030? Water quality and quantity by 2030 Water scarcity is often more a case of poor management of water supply systems than the physical lack of water. In most instances, it is the poor who suffer most because a small change in their circumstances can have a far greater effect on their ability to survive than a similar change in the lives of more affluent citizens. For us to achieve the target, it warrants greater preparedness that would exist to alleviate the impact of water scarcity. When waters run dry, people can’t get enough to drink, wash, or water crops, and economic decline may occur. The solution to water scarcity requires a concerted effort whereby all stakeholders present a wide spectrum of best practices in terms of what has been done in their space and what can still be done. This knowledge and advice must be taken by all stakeholders to develop a sustainable solution by 2030 and beyond. The 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG) custom-made the catalogue that talks to the above. This entails multiple
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THE SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCE HANDBOOK
stakeholders from the government, private sector and civil society that have put together cases from existing good practice, which is shared worldwide. The analysis made by WRG suggests that the gap between safe freshwater demand and supply will be about 40% globally by 2030 if 'business as usual' water management approaches continue. With the limited water availability, the critical challenge is how we can manage water resources to safely deliver the water needed to fuel growth as well as for meeting the needs of humans and the environment need to learn from existing good practices. Although WRG perspective is that the best practice in reducing water may be complicated to define, as what may be best in one area may be different to another. However, individual examples of where measures have been introduced both inform and inspire, and are a valuable contribution to the challenge of addressing water scarcity. Research has also proven that a behavioural change initiative can be practised even to those that lack capital injection like small municipalities. The project has shown that it is possible to deal with a shortage of water in an urban domestic setting, using a cost efficient, quick, and ecological and contention free approach. Despite the implementation of projects that seek to conserve water, it is critical to continuously engage with consumers to instil a behaviour in water use for the future to ensure that sustainable water quality and quantity is realised. Meeting the sdgs The above SDG 6 target is embedded in the Water Supply and Sanitation policy of 1994. It is evident from this paper that there are still some challenges in ensuring that the SDG 6 targets are realised.