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DAM-L WCD and SA's Skuifraam Dam/LS (fwd)



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Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 14:54:50 -0800
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From: lori@irn.org (Lori Pottinger)
Subject: WCD and SA's Skuifraam Dam/LS
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>From: "John Taylor" <taylorj@linton.co.za>
 >Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 15:01:08 +0200

>MEDIA RELEASE: WCD REPORT and WC&DM
>
>The report of The World Commission on Dams (WCD) released on 16 November
>has highlighted the  inadequate homework done in many cases by the dam
>building industry prior to the construction of dams. The World Commission
>on Dams was chaired by Prof Kader Asmal, former water affairs minister and
>currently education minister and comprised 12 members from various diverse
>fields. The commission recommends that large dam projects should only be
>approved if they meet the framework and guidelines as set out in the
>report. The call has now gone out to the World Bank and export agencies to
>stop supporting dam projects unless they comply with these criteria.
>
>On the same day, Minister Ronnie Kasrils met with a wide spectrum of
>stakeholders in the Western Cape to discuss, amongst other issues, the
>construction of Skuifraam Dam. Although the decision to build Skuifraam
>Dam was previously put on hold by Prof Asmal, on the basis that the CMC
>had no effective Water Conservation and Demand Management (WC&DM) program
>in place, it was recently approved by the Department of Environmental
>Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). In the covering letter from Minister Valli
>Moosa to Minister Kasrils confirming that the appeals were rejected,
>Minister Moosa said: 'It appears that water demand management has not
>really seriously been implemented in the Cape Metropolitan area.' The
>Minister is to be commended for further stating: 'I fully support the
>principle of water demand management and recommend that this approach be
>given the necessary priority attention by all relevant authorities.'
>
>While the era of supply-side tunnel vision is supposedly over, it is clear
>that this has not been translated into action in the Western Cape. The WCD
>emphasises the importance of alternatives and it is clear in the case of
>Skuifraam Dam, that the alternatives which are more sustainable and more
>economically viable if true economic accounting took place, have not been
>explored or exploited in full. The government, which has so clearly
>endorsed the WCD process, must revisit Skuifraam Dam in light of the
>recommendations of the WCD. The responsibility of the government is to
>illustrate both the importance of the WCD process as well as its
>commitment to sustainable development, through retracting the Skuifraam
>Dam decision and the implementation of an exhaustive, independent,
>objective and thorough economic assessment of all alternatives and their
>implications.
>
>The alternatives to be assessed include public education, water demand
>management, reallocation of water resources, utilisation of appropriate
>standards of purification, differential tariff structures, restrictions on
>use, investigation into the sustainable use of aquifers, eradication of
>leakages and losses in the water supply infrastructure, alien vegetation
>removal, recycling and similar initiatives. Although some attempt is
>currently being made to assess some of these issues, it is being
>undertaken primarily by people with vested interests, namely the water
>supply authorities and their consultants - hardly the basis for an
>objective and independent assessment. The in-built conflict of interests
>becomes all the more apparent because this study is being undertaken on a
>restricted  budget with unrealistic allocation of funding to the various
>elements thereof. It would therefore come as no surprise if the final
>report favours the building of a dam as these consultants stand to earn
>huge fees by supporting the dam building process. However these fees would
>be far better spent in WC&DM implementation projects as an immediate
>priority.
>
>With current tariff structures there is no incentive to conserve water and
>the rich are using water wastefully and being subsidised in their
>practices by the poor. The current mindset of 'there is an unlimited
>supply at a price' must be replaced by one of 'there is a limited supply
>and it will come at a price'. Shockingly, according to RST Western Cape,
>the latest large building construction projects to be completed in the
>Western Cape, namely the Canal Walk shopping centre at Century City and
>the Grand West Casino at Goodwood have apparently not been fitted with any
>water saving devices. In fact when this was disclosed to Minister Kasrils,
>his Director General, Mike Muller, commented that wasteful users would be
>penalised by paying more. This is an appalling indictment of the lack of
>will and implementation necessary to engender a change of mindset by every
>single water user.
>
>Surely this is indicative of the whole problem of WC&DM implementation -
>the authorities themselves still think that they must ensure increased
>supply to match demand. There is a fundamental clash of interests inherent
>here: the need of the water supply authorities to generate income from the
>sale of water - so why restrict the supply if it is going to limit their
>income? The government must lead by example _ if the provider is looking
>to solve the problem through short term capital intensive projects like
>dams to ensure supply, what motivation do consumers have to conserve the
>resource?
>
>In order to understand the extent of their water usage and how to manage
>it, the University of Cape Town conducted a water-use survey throught its
>Environmental Audit Sub-Committee in 1997. This investigation highlighted
>that up to 40% of the water then used could be saved through the
>implementation of a comprehensive WC&DM program. This translated to an
>annual saving in 1997 of nearly R400 000-00 and some 200 000 kilolitres.
>Much of this program still has to be actioned and there appears to again
>be a lack of will and follow through. At a potential future cost of R7-00
>per kilolitre this could represent a saving of nearly R2 million per
>annum. The scope and potential for water saving if this is multiplied
>throughout the CMC is obvious.
>
>Fortunately the minister is embracing alternatives such as groundwater
>extraction where it is sustainable and extensive research is being
>directed in this direction. Minister Kasrils again emphasised the need for
>consumers to pay for Skuifraam dam and that WC&DM needs to be strenuously
>enforced at all levels. The minister quoted the successes at Durban and
>Port Elizabeth as a result of the restructuring of tariffs and the
>implementation of WC&DM. However, given the poor performance record by the
>CMC to truly embrace WC&DM as a viable alternative, the minister foresees
>the almost inevitable eventual need for Skuifraam dam - just because the
>consumer is still pandered to and not being held accountable for bad
>habits. Society needs to accept responsibility for the implementation of
>WC&DM at all levels and to ensure compliance with WC&DM.
>
>The Western Cape System Analyses (WCSA) should be updated in light of the
>requirements of the new National Water Act, which was not even dreamt of
>when the WCSA was completed. Water providers must ensure that water
>conservation and the effects of wastage on availability and cost becomes
>part of the mindset of water consumers. The government and people of the
>Western Cape must be taught the true cost of reticulated purified water
>and the need to manage and conserve the region_s water resources. Current
>water costs some R2-00 per kilolitre but will cost R7-00 per kilolitre
>from Suifraam dam - this is an indication of escalation in direct costs to
>water consumers in the future.
>
>Another neglected area is the recycling of effluent, which in the CMC,
>could become a major contributor to the supply equation as currently only
>some 8% is recycled and the rest goes to waste. According to the CMC
>reports at present at least 15 % of water is unaccounted for although
>national norms indicate far higher levels of around 30 to 40%, so this
>statistic needs verification. Again, this represents a potential source
>not only of missing revenue, but also water itself.
>
>Although water demand is currently running at some 2,5% per annum, this
>figure has to be questioned against current economic conditions where
>growth is now falling and the impact of population demographics,
>particularly in light of the aids epidemic. It is a truism that as
>affluence in society increases more goods, including water, are
>increasingly consumed, so the prospects are that water demand will
>escalate unless WC&DM is actively taught and rigorously enforced. Minister
>Moosa has also appealed: ' This initiative should be supported and
>implemented by all role players as far as practical in the present
>circumstances, to reduce the reliance on further bulk supply schemes.' The
>implied threat in his statement is that further dams are inevitable and
>this mind-set must be opposed at all costs.
>
>Extensive re-education programs need to begin and learners, the general
>public and officials need to embrace a culture of 'water-wise', because we
>really can't afford to waste even one drop. All specifiers and suppliers
>of water devices should be obliged by legislation to only supply water
>saving devices and enforce retrofitting with these devices arising from
>the ensuing disappearance of spares. The Western Cape and South Africa as
>a whole has been categorised as a water-stressed country by no less an
>authority than the United Nations and every consumer has to start making a
>contribution towards conserving this precious resource.
>
>Regards
>John Taylor
>2 Pinehurst
>Sonstraal Road
>Durbanville
>
>taylorj@linton.co.za
>tel:  27 21 6894406  Home 27 21 9754621
>fax: 27 21 6894411  Home 27 21 9751248
>cell: 0825646001



::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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