South Africa has the means to address water issues through minor and major actions that can happen on national, local, business and individual levels – in a manner similar to how the country responded to its electricity crisis.

South Africa was facing a water crisis; however, the country could mobilise in a crisis, as shown by responses to electricity shortages, and it had options, many of which were already making a difference, global water solutions company Xylem WSS Africa, Middle East, Turkey, India strategy and marketing manager Chetan Mistry said on Tuesday.

“Just a few years ago, electricity blackouts threatened the country's economic and social fabric, yet today, there has been a marked turnaround in terms of public policy and private generation.”

Solar installations grew by double digits in the past few years, with private solar installations surging to 7 GW, helping make South Africa one of the fastest-growing solar markets in Africa.

Similarly, there has been renewed focus on local transport and logistics challenges, particularly rail networks, which is also showing promise for recovery.

The same momentum could tackle water challenges, Mistry said, highlighting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comments that loadshedding had been supplanted by the crisis of water security, which posed a similar if not greater threat to the quality of life and economic prospects of all South Africans.

South Africa is a water-stressed country averaging 497 mm of rainfall a year, compared with continental Europe's yearly average of more than 800 mm.

The country has allocated practically all of its strategic water resources, and many of those aquifers, rivers and wetlands are under serious distress from pollution and overuse.

By 2030, the country could face a 17% water deficit, and local infrastructure challenges compound the challenge, including high levels of nonrevenue water – water that is lost through leaks or theft before recouping treatment and piping costs – old water infrastructure and technical and governance skill shortfalls.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has noted that national water reliability is only at 68%, and water quality is declining in 60% of water supply systems, while the Academy of Science of South Africa estimates that between three-million and 14-million South Africans do not have reliable access to potable water.

Mistry further highlighted the serious water constraints faced by George municipality, with some worrying it would reach a ‘Day Zero’ of no reliable supply, echoing a situation that brought Cape Town to the brink of no water supply in 2018.

Climate change further compounds the situation, already causing substantial challenges such as droughts, floods and heatwaves.

However, Mistry pointed out that there had been growing uptake of water resilience among private households, schools, businesses and public services.

“It is reflecting what we see in the solar market, where many individual efforts can combine into a national trend that really gets meaningful results.”

Some of these initiatives include rainwater harvesting, where capture tanks are connected to rooftops to collect water for use in irrigation and cleaning, and even consumption when combined with disinfection systems.

Private water treatment is another contributor, wherein farms, mines, chemical and food and beverage companies, besides others, rely on water use scalable water treatment systems such as UV light and dissolved air flotation to treat and recycle water.

Smart leak detection also plays a critical role in water security, with field engineers speeding up leak detection and prevention in pipelines of all diameters with technologies such as sonar and electromagnetism.

Meanwhile, a growing number of municipalities are leveraging data-driven management through smart meters to improve revenues and reduce water waste through real-time monitoring, fault detection and accurate consumer billing.

Other examples include public water education and stewardship, improved wastewater systems and water source rehabilitation.

“That momentum is already gathering pace, and 2026 stands ready to be the year we shift water from crisis to resilience,” Mistry concluded.