Measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which poses a dire threat to water security, agriculture, health and energy, have come into sharp focus at the public consultations on the third edition of the National Water Resources Strategy (NWRS-3).
“Those risks should also be integrated into short, medium and long-term water and sanitation sector strategies and planning. Mainstreaming of climate change considerations in town planning, as well as water planning and management, is therefore very important,” Water and Sanitation Director-General, Dr Sean Phillips, said during the consultations with various stakeholders on Monday.
Phillips launched the NWRS-3 at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The NWRS-3 builds on the National Water Resources Strategy editions 1 and 2.
The launch follows a Government Gazette notice issued by Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, on 29 July 2022.
During consultations, stakeholders broke into three commissions to discuss various issues affecting the water sector.
Commission one focused on increasing water supply, managing effective water and sanitation services, regulating the water and sanitation sector, and redistributing water for transformation.
Commission two focused on managing water and sanitation under a changing climate and improving raw water quality, protecting and restoring ecological infrastructure, among others.
Commission three deliberated on promoting international cooperation, building capacity for action, ensuring financial sustainability, creating effective water sector institutions, and addressing legislative and policy gaps.
Participants resolved that as a way forward, there should be an emphasis on public and private partnerships, and intergovernmental partnerships.
Other resolutions included science-based limits being essential for water use licences, and a need to carefully understand changes in water quality.
A call was made to Catchment Management Agencies (CMA) to ensure that their stewardship projects are inclusive of all stakeholders and to regulate tariff zero-based budgeting.
A suggestion was also made to review the Water Research Act to cover issues around climate change and water availability.
The NWRS is currently the legal instrument for implementing or operationalising the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998), and it is binding on all authorities and institutions implementing the Act.
It is the primary mechanism to manage water across all sectors towards achieving national government’s development objectives.
The first NWRS was published in 2004 and the second edition (NWRS-2) was published in 2013, and was the blueprint for water resources management in South Africa
The NWRS-3 is open for public comments over a period of 90 days from the date of publication of the notice.
Water and Sanitation Acting Deputy Director-General for Infrastructure, Leonardo Manus, encouraged the public to participate in the 90-day window for public comments.
“There is a chance to make the document stronger and better. Public participation will close on 29 October and in between, public participation sessions will be arranged to educate and inform the public. The document, as it stands, is available on the DWS website,” Manus said.
Source: South African Government News Agency