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GETTING WATER TO
WHERE IT’S NEEDED
The goal of water engineering is
to ensure a sustainable supply of
water, where it is needed, when it
is needed.
South Africa’s
national storage
capacity for water
is nearly equal to its
annual river flow.
The highly seasonal rainfall in South Africa means
that the storage of water is critical to ensure
year-round supply. Dams and inter-basin transfer schemes form the backbone
of our engineered or ‘hard’ infrastructure for water. Smaller-scale engineered
infrastructure, from the bulk water supply to urban, irrigation and wastewater
systems, is critical for getting water to taps and for sanitation. Dams give us
regulated, more consistent, year-round flows and fewer floods. However, the
disruption of natural flow regimes degrades the natural state of our rivers.
Interbasin Transfer Schemes (ITSs): Constructed conveyance schemes which
move water from one river basin where it is available, to another basin where
water is less available and is required for agriculture, cities, development, etc.
FIGURE 3.1: ENGINEERED INFRASTRUCTURE OF SOUTH AFRICAN WATER SYSTEMS
Distribution infrastructure
Resource
development
Bulk infrastructure
Connector
infrastructure
Internal
infrastructure
Water treatment
works
Bulk water
pipeline
Distribution reservoir
Connector pipeline
Internal pipe
network
Dam
Pumping station
To other settlements
River
Water treatment
works
Collector
sewer
Sewerage
Assimilative capacity of
receiving water body
Treated
effluent
outfall
Outfall
sewer
Sewerage
pump station
Sewerage
reservoir
Impacts on aquatic environment
and down-stream water users
Source: DBSA State of SA's Economic Infrastructure Report 2012
Water Facts & Futures: Rethinking South Africa’s Water Future | Page
35