As South Africa battles water restrictions precipitated by the El Niño phenomenon, aged infrastructure, above-average temperatures, below-average rainfall and climate change, industry stakeholders have called for a collaborative water stewardship approach that will look to protect dwindling water supply and boost an appreciation of the resource as a critical commodity.

Defining South Africa as a “water welfare” State, in which consumers expected reliable and constant water supply from government without comprehending the complexity of its treatment or distribution, Water Research Commission CEO Dhesigan Naidoo on Tuesday called for a paradigm shift towards a water consumption culture in which all users took responsibility for their water use habits.

“The countries in which consumers take responsibility for their water use are the ones in which the supply of water is most secure.

“People need to take responsibility for the part they play in the water change, because everyone makes either a positive or a negative difference. Most of us unfortunately make a negative difference.

“The reality is that no sector can, alone, secure the integrity of the entire system . . . [and] there are collective mechanisms that allow us to engage,” he told a panel discussion on The Role of Government, Industry and the Community Partnerships in Water Stewardships, in Johannesburg.

South Africa remained a water-scarce country, with its yearly rainfall half that of the global average of 860 mm.

Engineering News Online reported earlier this month that, while regional water supply dams and schemes were secure and sitting at positive water levels, there was a downward trend in the country’s aggregate water levels, which had fallen from 74.6% during the same period last year to the current 64.3% as a drought hit some 173 of the 1 628 water supply schemes nationwide.

Five provinces, namely the North West, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, had been declared drought emergency areas, as South Africa battled the effects of the El Niño phenomenon and climate change.

Opinion emerging from the floor during a question and answer session, meanwhile, suggested that the low price of water in South Africa belied its position as a valuable commodity, which contributed towards its often reckless use by consumers.

“Partnership needs to start at the tap, not at government level. We need to change the way consumers look at water and what it takes to provide that water,” a representative of multidisciplinary engineering consulting firm Gibb stated.

While quick to assert that he was not in favour of increasing the price of water at the tap, Naidoo called for a boost in the “value index” of water, adding that Water Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane would soon announce a new water pricing strategy that would address waste discharge charges.

Noting that the role of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) was to protect the water resource and regulate its use, DWS regulations and compliance deputy director-general Anil Singh embraced a partnership approach to water stewardship, saying the private sector had an “ethical responsibility” to use water “sensibly”.

“We’ve had lots of conversations with industry around how we can do this together as a team . . . we have a regulatory policy in place but we have to further encourage the value of water stewardship as a partnership approach,” he told the panel discussion, which was organised by the DWS, Coca-Cola South Africa and Mail & Guardian Africa.

He further committed the council to assisting in the review of South Africa’s transboundary water supply arrangements, which saw it supplying water to its drought-stricken neighbours.

“We’re reviewing these arrangements to see what impact they’re having. We place water at the centre of all development goals . . . and our conversation going forward needs to be about refining the water stewardship conversation and ensuring good governance,” Singh remarked.

Engineering News Online reported earlier this month that government had initiated policy frameworks, research initiatives, international response adaptation and the development of institutional and operational arrangements to address the issues, with work and planning set to continue to cement South Africa’s ability to bounce back from weather-induced challenges.

“We expect the El Niño phenomenon to continue until at least March 2016, which means that the current hot and dry conditions are likely to persist for the next six months. South Africans must adapt to a changing climate and reduce water use,” Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa was quoted as saying at the time.