National Water Resources Strategy-2

Comments from the SA Water Caucus, 24 October 2012

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Water and Environment

Who is SA Water Caucus?

• Network of more than 20 CSOs, NGOs, trade unions and activists

• Founded in lead up to World Summit on Sustainable Development

• Provincial caucuses in Western Cape, Mpumalanga, KZN, Free State, Limpopo, Gauteng, Eastern Cape

• A civil society voice in policy and implementation

History

• Large dams• NWRS-1• Water Dialogues• Prepaid meters, cut-offs and tricklers• Water quality, green drop, industrial pollution• CSO regulation group met regularly• Water Leadership Group

Water quality affects the most vulnerable

Process for NWRS-2

• Met on 16 and 17 Aug 2012• Input by DWA officials• Provincial discussions• Water Sector Leadership Group 16 October• Wants to participate

View on NWRS-2

• Welcome emphasis on democratic developmental state

• Welcome idea of active citizens who shape developmental state

• Water resources belong to the people• State is custodian and regulator, NWRS

describes the strategy• Active citizens can support strategy

Active citizens supporting Green Drop in Rietspruit

Power of NWRS-2

• Framework for protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water reosurces

• Binding on all implementing National Water Act, 1998

• Only 4% of DWA officials knew about NWRS-1• NWRS-2 should be known outside water

sector too

Difficult process

• 3 years late• Various teams worked on it• Lack of co-operation within DWA?• Political framing of democratising water

governance and technical planning still separate

• Early consultations with big water users, are they water custodians?

How pro-poor is NWRS?

• People-centred language is used• We need to check if technical strategies are

people-centred and pro-poor• Saying people “benefitting directly and

indirectly” raises questions• Ecological and social reserve must remain the

first priority• Polluter pays principle must remain in force

Currently economy does not operate within ecological limits

• Acid mine drainage on goldbelt and 1000s of abandoned mines on coalfields: nearby communities and the public pay the bills

• Not convinced that new mines have water licences and rehabilitation funds

• Fracking is another such disaster in the making• Clear commitment need to “no go areas”,

Ekangala grasslands, Mapungubwe• Water footprints should be calculated

Make participation real• Welcome emphasis on participation, but make it

real• 9 CMAs are far from people – so local catchment

management forums need to be strengthened• Include marginalised communities, make their

participation easy• Give forums teeth – e.g. consider water use

license properly, DWA should follow up complaints based on local knowledge

• Also builds culture of co-operation

An explanation that makes it easy to know who is polluting

Jack's WWTW Mike's Gold Co.urban sewage 55 years old25 years old marginal mine

Pebble Stream disinfects using Cl- dewaters 10 Ml/dHeadwater 5ML/d refinery on site (2Ml/d)stream flow 1Ml/d to 6Ml/d biological pebble bed filters 2 x 75ha slimes dams

not vegetated

1500 m --

1000 m --

500 m --

12 km's 5 km's

P1

P2

P3

Participation in practice

• Fund travel to support civil society and community participation

• Translate into people’s languages• Simplify technical language, and support

NGOs who build capacity for governance• Proper notice of meetings, accessible venues• Access to documents e.g. Enviro Monitoring

Plans, mining licences, rehabilation funds transparent

Ensure Water Demand Management is pro-poor

• Example of technical strategy at risk of discriminating against the poor

• NWRS must specify requirements to contain municipal water losses

• Water leaks programmes, climate change proofing can create jobs

• Encourage rainwater harvesting

Re-allocate water resources

• Stronger voices of communities and small farmers in allocation decisions

• We welcome statement that commercial farmers’ savings to be reallocated to rural women, but reallocation should go beyond just these savings

Strengthen civil society voices

• Sustainable business principles or sustainable development principles?

• Engaging civil society on equal footing to private sector

• UN CEO Mandate and SA Strategic Water Partners Network have privilegted access

• Support those who strengthen civil society• Rural dwellers feel alienated

Climate change is real• NWRS-2 too little on climate change• It’s a reality and needs to be factored in pro-actively• Water sector should take its carbon footprint into account

– energy for waste water treatment and not recovering resources like nutrients, paradigm shift needed

• Water and energy issues need to be considered together: desalination energy intensive, coal mining threat to water, fracking

• Desalination has high carbon footpring and is last resort• Technologies for waste water treatment, cement use,

should

Algal ponding system for climate change and resource recovery

Restrict timber plantations

• Plantations have high water requirements• Threaten grasslands and wetlands, which are

water spunges, and grasslands species• Do not expand plantations• Do not export this model to our neighbours,

such as Mozambique

NWRS-2 needs commitment

• NWRS-2 should be a living document• DWA should play role as sector leader• Water needs to be put at the centre of decision

making• DWA should be a strong regulator – for example

fight to protect water resources against sharp mining practices

• DWA should go beyond green drop to deal with pollution from municipal waste water works

Water is politically important

• Water services are always part of social protests

• Marikana is example – it happened on the day of our caucus meeting

• Poor living conditions and services in informal settlement, including water and sanitaiton

• Competition of water uses prejudice the poor• Water Caucus would like to support

consultation process