Water loss: SADC’s invisible crisis

Lazarus Sauti

High quality water, in the right quantity at the right place at the right time, is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth.

“Better access to clean water, sanitation services and water management creates tremendous opportunity for the poor and is a progressive strategy for economic growth,” the World Health Organisation says.

The United Nations public health agency added, “The poor gain directly from high quality water, improved access to basic water as well as sanitation services through improved health, averted health care costs and time saved.”

While concerns over water conservation, access and hygiene feature high on the news agenda, the problem of water loss in the Southern African Development Community often gets overlooked.

Yet this vital issue affects millions of lives.

In recent times, the inability of vulnerable populations in SADC countries to access safe water and basic sanitation due to water losses has seen frequent diarrhoreal and cholera outbreaks. Citizens are exposed to dirty water.

This is sad considering that a staggering 46 billion litres of drinking water are lost globally every day, and SADC is also badly affected, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) – an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas – in its 2015 Global Risks Report.

“Water is key for life. It is central to societal development, but its scarcity is the biggest societal and economic risk for the next ten years,” said the report.

Supporting the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) – part of the UN Secretariat responsible for promoting and supporting international co-operation to promote development for all said most African countries face a situation of economic water scarcity, and current institutional, financial and human capacities for managing water are lacking.

Zvikomborero Manyangadze, from the Environment, Water and Climate ministry in Zimbabwe, also concurs.

“SADC countries face a serious condition of economic water shortage. They lose water via pollution by local authorities mostly and industries as well as the behavior of citizens. In some countries, there are also the leakages caused by obsolete infrastructure,” he said.

The all-important question is, therefore, “What can consumers, business entities and government sectors do to avert water losses?”

The World Health Organisation believes citizens, industries as well as government sectors must embrace good management of water resources.

“Good management of water resources brings more certainty and efficiency in productivity across economic sectors and contributes to the health of ecosystem.

“Taken together, these interventions lead to immediate and long-term economic, social and environmental benefits that make a difference to lives of billions of people.

“For that reason, all stakeholders must embrace good management of water resources to minimise losses,” affirmed the World Health Organisation.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, also urges cooperation between stakeholders.

“To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent co-operation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future,” he said.

Social safety interventions are also vital if SADC countries are to conserve water and energy, limit carbon footprints as well as supplying adequate clean water to citizens.

On top of social safety measures, Environmental expert, Shepherd Magadza, believes that looking at water infrastructure and utilities in addition to embracing new technologies is of paramount importance.

Magadza, therefore, urged government sectors and development partners to invest in water infrastructure and utilities as the first step towards eradicating future non-revenue water losses.

Barry Marshall, a retired water engineer encouraged water engineers in Africa as well as other developing nations to adopt active leakage control and pressure management measures to minimise water losses.

He also believes that consumers can do their part when it comes to conserving water at home simply by thinking about water storage options.

“The mandate to conserve water is not only for governments and industries. Consumers can play a bigger role too,” Marshall noted.

Jacob Tompkins of Waterwise, a water efficiency non-governmental organisation, argues that industrial water loss is a public policy issue which must be addressed by both the business sector and government, but consumers can put the pressure on.

Water Policy Expert at the Southern African Development Community secretariat, Dr Kenneth Msibi, believes that for the regional bloc to improve water resources management and development in its member-states, there is the need for harmonisation of national and local strategies with Sadc regional strategies.

“Unless the regional grouping broadens its water goals, member-states will find it difficult to remain economically resilient.

“We look towards the rehabilitation, development and expansion of water and sanitation infrastructure.

“If managed efficiently and equitably, water can play a key enabling role in strengthening the resilience of social, economic and environmental systems in the light of rapid and unpredictable changes,” explained Msibi.

Water financing is crucial in addressing the water woes which are not only critical for economic recovery, but averting health disasters like cholera and typhoid which thrive in the absence of potable water.

Public-private partnerships can, therefore, play an important role in supporting governments through financing schemes.

Stakeholders in the run-up meetings to the Sadc Water Week in Zimbabwe recently urged governments to seriously consider public-private partnerships to halt the perennial water shortages in the region.

“There is also a big role for public-private sector collaboration, but ... the key is appropriate regulation of this process – this is where non-governmental organisations and community group involvement is essential,” agreed Tompkins.

The Global 2015 report added: “The problem of water loss is so tightly woven that no government, business or charity acting alone can solve it. Consequently, public-private collaboration is a viable option.”

As a new era of development goals begins under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is clear that water will play a critical role in development. For water to play this crucial role, governments in the region should impose targets on utilities to reduce losses.