Experts warn South Africa's ageing water system leaves it exposed to El Niño drought
Dam levels are higher than before the 2015/16 drought, but water specialists say leaks, failing municipal supply and rising food prices leave little room for complacency.
South Africa is better placed to withstand a possible El Niño-induced drought than it was before the 2015/16 crisis, with dam levels currently relatively high. Water experts, however, warned at a WaterCAN webinar on Wednesday that ageing infrastructure, failures in municipal water delivery and vulnerability to food price rises leave little room for complacency.
The webinar, titled Is South Africa ready for El Niño?, looked at what a prolonged dry spell could mean for water supplies and food prices, and what government should do to prepare. Anja du Plessis, an associate professor and water management expert at Unisa, called El Niño "a stress test that we can see coming", saying the higher dam levels give time that is only useful if it is spent fixing leaks, building buffers and deciding early.
Having water in dams does not guarantee it reaches households, she said. Du Plessis identified three pressures that could emerge during El Niño: reduced inflows into dams, increased evaporation as temperatures rise, and higher demand for water.
Why it mattersHouseholds depend on municipal systems that have already failed to deliver water, so high dam levels alone will not protect their taps during a dry spell.