Water experts discuss crisis in Cape Town and water management in SA
According to professor Anthony Turton, an expert on water systems, South Africa will become increasingly water-scarce. He said role players will have to look at the recycling of water from waste, the removal of salt from water and the conjunctive use of groundwater. He referred to a plant in Perth that recovers millions of litres of water from waste. He warned that Gauteng’s water security is also at risk due to delays in the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Turton claimed that numbers given by authorities for desalination facilities are absurd and that it can be done for far less than anticipated and also explained why back-up dams aren’t filling up. “Coastal cities like Richards Bay and Durban will have to invest in desalination plants,” Turton says.