Water, like electricity, is something taken for granted when it’s available – you turn on a switch or a tap and it’s there. It’s only when it isn’t that most people realise how massively important it is.
Of course, Capetonians, mindful of how close the city came to Day Zero five years ago may be somewhat less complacent, as no doubt the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay are now.
Events such as World Water Day (Wednesday 22 March) aim to focus attention on the importance of sustainable water use and raise awareness about the two billion people living without access to safe water globally.
In a water-scarce country such as South Africa, which has now had two major cities face the real prospect of running out of water, the annual observance is a stark reminder that fresh, potable water cannot be taken for granted.
As with the current national electricity crisis an integrated solution, with national and provincial and local government working together with private enterprise, is probably the best way to get results.
And it’s happening.
On the country’s arid west coast there’s a road being built between the towns of Stompneusbaai and Vredenburg. Road construction requires a considerable amount of water – between 50 000 and 200 000 litres a kilometre, depending on the terrain and construction methods.
In the mid-latitude desert climate of the region, that’s potentially a considerable volume of water to draw from local resources.
Instead, the local municipality has teamed up with fishing group, Oceana, which owns and operates two canning factories in the region for its Lucky Star range.
Oceana has for years implemented water saving and conservation initiatives in its plants, such as recycling waste water and installing rainwater harvesting systems. These have reduced reliance on municipal supply by between 30% and 40%.
After Cape Town’s water crisis in 2018, however, the Group realised it needed to be even less dependent on municipal supply.
“We faced the real prospect of running out of water for our plants in St Helena Bay and Laaiplek,” explains CEO Neville Brink.
“We’re a major employer in the region and suspending operations or closing the plants would directly affect the livelihood of 2 500 employees, with a considerable knock-on effect for the broader community. So we invested R35 million to build two desalination plants to serve the factories and ensure lack of water would not interrupt production or put jobs at risk.”
The move has been enormously successful. With the previous water-saving measures still place, the desalination plants produce more water than the factories require.
That’s how, in a marvellous piece of private-sector, local-government collaboration a fishing company is helping the municipality build a road.
Between October 2022 and January 2023 Oceana’s West Coast plants have donated over 26 million litres of water to facilitate the construction of six kilometres of road. The road-building project is due to be completed in April.
Brink says that excess water will then be donated to other projects.
The Group is planning a similar approach to ensure its plants have reliable power and are able to operate around the clock – something that’s becoming essential as the straitened economy is driving increased household demand for affordable, nutritious protein, such as canned fish.
It aims to build a solar plant which will considerably lessen the plants’ reliance on Eskom supply, effectively freeing up more electricity for other users.
“The water project has proved what can be done. As well as securing jobs in a region where these are scarce, innovative, collaborative projects such as this help improve the standards of living for surrounding communities,” says Brink.
