Turning The Tide - Curbing Groundwater. Over-Abstraction In The Tosca-Molopo Area, South Africa.

Note: This case study was submitted and reported in the Publication Advances in Groundwater governance. The demand on fresh water has increased to such an extend that supply cannot keep up with demand, especially in areas where desalination of seawater is not an option. There is a large gap between the water user, the water supplier and the capacity of the resource/s. The water user sees it as his/her right to be provided with clean water in sufficient volumes to sustain their most basic needs.At the same time people want higher levels of service, especially where sanitation is concerned. The recent droughts in Cape Town and in Port Elizabeth have put significant focus on groundwater and we've seen uncontrolled drilling for groundwater reaching new heights, which is a problem on its own. We can no longer afford not to bring the groundwater user into the water planning cycle, so that the users, on all levels of society, can be educated to understand that the quantity and quality of fresh water (ground -and surface water) is limited and dependent on recharge from rainfall, size of the catchment, topography and all that takes place on the surface. This education must be specific to a target audience and must take into account the existing knowledge and understanding of the user profile. As an example, a case study will be discussed where there are large groundwater users operating within the upper parts of a catchment, followed by municipal abstractions and private abstractions within the central parts of the same catchment. Four profiles of users are therefore present: (1) large-scale irrigation by farmers, (2) large-scale municipal abstractions, (3) private residents and (4) formal / informal settlements, with the latter probably competing for top pot in terms of water use, with the irrigation. They key deliverable of the presentation / paper will be to (1) make people aware of the problem/challenge, and (2) suggest ways to bridge gaps and get all users and service providers to work together to save water and to understand that there are limits to the quantities available.