National Water Security: Planning and Implementation

Since South Africa is a water scarce country, water resources planning is a critical part of ensuring national water security. Since 1994, there has been a paradigm shift to a more holistic approach to water resources planning, underpinned by South Africa’s enabling Constitutional provisions, legislative framework and water policy, and implementation challenges. This new paradigm involves an integrated approach to water quality and quantity (for both surface water and groundwater) as well as consideration of water conservation and demand management, reuse/recycling, desalination and other options for water security at various levels of planning.