The current constraints on power generation in South Africa, which has resulted in extended load shedding by electricity utility Eskom, is overshadowing another potentially more dire crisis: water.
“The energy crisis is confronting us first, or maybe it is the most obvious, but for me, the current water shortage in Gauteng is absolutely a worse crisis. While the fundamental issues are the same, it is going to be a much more difficult situation for people to live with on a day-to-day basis,” said Darrin Green, Africa MD at globally trusted infrastructure firm AECOM.
At a higher government policy level, energy also touches on sustainability, which AECOM embraces with its comprehensive Sustainable Legacies approach. For example, integrated hydrological models of South Africa’s coastlines are not being maintained or updated. Such modelling is critical not only to map out the available water resources, but to determine the potential runoff. “That determines the input into the design for various types of infrastructure,” noted Green.
A lack of holistic or integrated planning means that any upstream developments will be affected by concentrated or uncontrolled runoff from elsewhere. Downstream infrastructure and properties“It is not so much that there is a lack of development policy or controls, but these are not enforced,” said Green. While integrated planning is critical for stormwater, it applies to all infrastructure.
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