Such wastage matters, water management experts say, because South Africa has limited water reserves. South Africa is among the driest countries on earth, with rainfall of about 45.7 cm a year, just over half the world average.
According to AlertNet, the water the country does have is unevenly distributed. Most of the supply that feeds Gauteng province, the country's industrial and economic hub, comes from the highlands of neighbouring Lesotho, and climate change is expected to add significantly to the country's water problems. Recent University of Cape Town research predicts that, as the planet warms, temperatures will rise over the whole of South Africa, but particularly in the central and Northern Cape areas. Temperatures are expected to increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, and sea levels are likely to rise 10 cm to 90 cm, the research says.
Peter Johnson, an applied climatologist at UCT, says less rainfall and more evaporation due to higher temperatures will further strain the limited amount of water available for agriculture, homes and businesses. Summer rainfall is estimated to decrease by 5 percent in the northern regions and 25 percent in the Eastern and Southern Cape, while the Western Cape risks a loss of up to 35 percent of its current winter rainfall, Johnson told AlertNet.
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