water scarcity - The African Mirror

Nov

2022

Cape Town has found a permanent solution to water scarcity: Wastewater

BIÉNNE HUISMAN, BIRD STORY AGENCY SOME Capetonians might find this hard to swallow, but within five years, the city’s residents and visitors are set to drink purified sewage water. But before it’s piped back into homes and businesses as tap water, it will go through stringent recycling processes. “It’s very safe,” says Michael Killick, Cape Town director of bulk services for water and sanitation. “We’ll have our own laboratory with control and monitoring systems throughout the process. We’ll test for herbicides, pesticides, and contaminants of emerging concern, which are hormones, even caffeine, pharmaceuticals, and E.coli. So we’ll be able to…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Five unusual technologies for harvesting water in dry areas

ENVIRONMENT

MANZOOR QADIR, Assistant Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University VLADIMIR SMAKHTIN, Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University WATER scarcity is among the top five global risks affecting people’s wellbeing. In water-scarce areas, the situation is grim. Conventional sources like snowfall, rainfall, river runoff and easily accessible groundwater are being affected by climate change, and supplies are shrinking as demand grows. In these countries, water is a critical challenge to sustainable development and a potential cause of social unrest and conflict. Water scarcity also impacts traditional seasonal human migration…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

In a thirsty world, information gaps dog a push to tap groundwater

ENVIRONMENT

LAURIE GOERING AS growing populations and accelerating climate change worsen water scarcity around the world, pumping more from underground could help fill the gap in poorer nations - but only if supplies are better charted and they are used wisely, researchers said. "It's a resource with a huge amount of potential," said Jude Cobbing, who led a new study for charities WaterAid, Earthwatch and WWF on how groundwater is managed in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana. Little is understood about how much groundwater is available, particularly at local level, and poor organisation between government agencies can mean it does…