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.
Community members throughout the country 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.