Addressing water inequality in South Africa

Addressing water inequality in South Africa

A more inclusive approach to water access is needed in South Africa.

While water shortages in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town dominate discussions about the water crisis in South Africa, rural communities in many areas remain without access to clean drinking water.

According to Professor Philiswa Nomngongo, DSTI-NRF SARChI Chair in Nanotechnology for Water, there are people in rural areas who do not have access to clean water in South Africa, some of whom still fetch water from the rivers.

“Rural communities are the forgotten ones. It doesn’t matter which province you’re talking about, it’s the same across the country,” she says.

A lack of research projects in rural areas

“Rural areas are often overlooked in basic structural services and in terms of research tailored for these communities. As a result, there aren’t many funded research projects focussed on water in rural areas.

“My research aims to shed light on the water issues that persist in South African rural areas and at the same time we want to teach and inform rural communities about the dangers related to water issues,” she says.

Water resources not enough

Professor Nomngongo’s current research project in the Eastern Cape has identified a problem of extended water rationing in rural areas.

“These are communities where water is only available at specific times of the day despite having taps in the house. Some communities only have water available on Tuesdays early in the morning, for example. This tells us that the water supply in many areas across South Africa is limited.

Using nanotechnology to improve water quality  

Prof. Nomngongo’s research focuses on the use of nanotechnology to improve water quality.

“Monitoring water quality is very important. For us to come up with solutions, we need to know what the problem is. So, we’re using nanotechnology to identify the problems in different sources, whether it’s wastewater or river water,” she says.

There are many tangibles from her research. “We have identified problems in different areas. Our research tells us a lot. For example, we know that in urban areas, our raw water systems are contaminated by pharmaceuticals and a lot of other pollutants that should not be in the water,” says Prof. Nomngongo.

“In some rural areas, the primary problem is microbial contamination, such as E. coli in borehole water. In such instances, our team can develop nanomaterials that trap E. coli and improve water quality.”

Addressing water inequality in South Africa