Abstract
South Africa (RSA) is a ‘developing country’ still facing the challenge of providing basic water services to a significant proportion of the population. Water security is increasingly a matter of major concern, with most of the surface water resources fully accounted for and poor water quality downstream of urban areas. Whereas service delivery and social upliftment are high on the political agenda, the challenge is to promote economic and social equity, whilst simultaneously ensuring environmental sustainability; this challenge is greatest in the rapidly growing urban areas. Alternative approaches to conventional urban water management, which account for these water-supply and -quality constraints as well as the impacts of extreme weather-related events, are thus required. It is postulated that, from a water-management perspective, this will require strategic planning for the wide-scale implementation of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) – a systems-based approach that focuses on the interactions between the built form and water-resources management. This article describes a way forward for an integrated management (infrastructure and planning) approach for urban water. It defines what ‘water sensitivity’ might mean in the RSA context, and outlines the process that was followed to develop a framework and guidelines for implementing WSUD in South Africa. The four complementary components of the framework – research, vision, narrative, and implementation – highlight what will be required in order to manage the challenges facing the country’s urban water sector and enable the transition towards water sensitivity. Keywords: Developing countries, water framework, water sensitive cities, water sensitive urban design
Highlights
The vision of a Water Sensitive City (WSC), one where water is given due prominence in the design of urban areas, was first proposed by Wong & Brown (2008: 2) at the 11th International Conference on Urban Drainage (ICUD)
For the purposes of this research, it was, proposed that ‘water sensitivity’ be defined as the management of the country’s urban water resources based on five principles selected from the National Water Act (RSA, 1998), the NWRS-2, the RSA Constitution (RSA, 1996) and the Dublin Principles (UN, 1992): i) RSA is a water-scarce country; ii) Access to adequate potable water is a basic human right enshrined in the Constitution of RSA; iii) Management of water should be based on a participatory approach involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels; iv) Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as an economic good
RSA is a ‘developing country’ still facing the challenge of providing basic services, including water, Figure 3: Suggested narrative for Water Sensitive Cities in South Africa to a significant proportion of the population, whilst some households are fully serviced to standards equal to any ‘developed’ nation
Summary
The vision of a Water Sensitive City (WSC), one where water is given due prominence in the design of urban areas, was first proposed by Wong & Brown (2008: 2) at the 11th International Conference on Urban Drainage (ICUD). The WSC vision is pertinent in both South Africa (RSA) and other developing countries that are struggling to address the challenge of providing basic services – including water – to their people This challenge is greatest in the rapidly growing urban areas; it is estimated that nearly 78% of South Africa’s population of 51.7 million people (in 2016) live in cities and towns in both urban and rural areas, with this urbanising trend likely to continue (SACN, 2016: 32). This paper outlines the process of developing a framework and guidelines for implementing WSUD in RSA, as part of the Water Research Commission Project K5/2071,2 which was concluded in 2014 (Armitage, Fisher-Jeffes, Carden, Winter, Naidoo, Spiegel, Mauck & Coulson, 2014) It defines what ‘water sensitivity’ might mean in the RSA context, motivates for adopting this vision, and describes a four-component framework to.
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