Water experts at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have joined calls by government and other organisations urging South Africans to exercise caution when using water, as supply in the country is under great pressure and demand continues to rise.

Communities needed to adopt positive behavioural changes that would yield beneficial impact and become more sensitive to the realities of South Africa’s depleting water resources, said CSIR Water Research Centre manager Dr Rembu Magoba.

“Although we have not yet reached a crisis stage, we need to start behaving like we are in severe water crisis mode. It is high time that, as residents, we start treating water as an asset and act like we are in a serious water crisis.

"In order to overcome the water challenges that the country finds itself in, communities, industry and government must collaborate in water conservation efforts,” he said.

CSIR-led research shows that, while South Africa’s largest water user is the agricultural sector, in Gauteng, industrial water use is the highest.

South Africa remains a water-scarce country and is ranked among the 30 driest countries in the world. Gauteng is a summer rainfall region and, despite recent rains, the country is still susceptible to sustained droughts, exacerbated by climate change.

There are various ways in which South Africans can help reduce water consumption, such as spending less time in the shower, using grey water for gardening, using a bucket when washing cars and embracing the bucket flushing system, besides others.

“Scientific research plays a critical role in ensuring the efficiency of water usage throughout municipalities. The CSIR is open to working with various municipalities to address shortcomings in South Africa’s water planning and accountability, infrastructure operation and maintenance, water treatment technologies and critical domain skills,” he said.

The organisation established a water research centre, which helps improve water management systems through its contributions towards policy reviews, and the development of tools and techniques that will reduce the cost of water delivery and promote equitable water use.