There is one word missing from the headline that, in biology, refers to the process where many invertebrates and animals routinely cast off a part of there body, which, in many instances – but not always – may be an outer layer or covering. This process occurs at specific times of the year or at specific points in the invertebrate’s and animals’ life cycle.

The word that is missing from the title is ‘shedding’. In South Africa, we have become accustomed to load-shedding, but we could soon start talking about water-shedding as well. Who knows, there might well be a rebranding in favour of the exotic-sounding load-ecdysis and water-ecdysis?

There is not much more to be said about load-shedding that has not be said already. The not-so-prominent shedding, but which is quite possibly the worse of the two forms of shedding, is water-shedding. In a December 14, 2018, article, the Mail & Guardian reported: “Water-shedding will make load-shedding seem like a jol.” The Johannesburg-based newspaper added: “Water-shedding is inevitable because the business case for new water infrastructure doesn’t add up.”

What South Africans tend to forget is that most of the country is classified as semiarid. In case the significance of ‘semiarid’ is missed, according to https://sciencing.com, regions with semiarid climates represent the second-driest climates in the world after deserts, known for their dry, arid climates. It adds that semiarid climates typically receive up to twice the amount of rain than desert regions do, which is by no means a significant amount – 500 mm, to be exact.

The Water and Sanitation Department says: “South Africa can avoid rolling cuts in water supply if citizens stick to restrictions in usage. If we use water sparingly, we won’t get to the point of water-shedding. If we stick to restrictions that are there, we will not get there.”

This begs the question: Is the sole challenge facing South Africa to curb water use? Does it then follow that, by collectively managing water consumption, South Africans would be spared water-shedding?

The Mail & Guardian contended that South Africa had obsolete infrastructure, which was inadequate for the country’s growing population, adding that “one-third of that infrastructure doesn’t work”.

Meanwhile, the National Treasury’s efforts to eradicate the infrastructure gap present two challenges: the new infrastructure serves people who cannot afford the service, and the financial resources to build the infrastructure attract ‘a lot of thieves’, or what could be considered opportunists.

Even if the infrastructure challenge could be mitigated or eradicated, we still have to address the issue of where the water will come from. What alternative sources of water are there, besides Lesotho? This is an escalating challenge, owing to climate change, which is blamed for shifting rainfall patterns and the increasing severity of droughts. Against this background, will agriculture indeed be one of the ‘engines of growth’ in South Africa.

Further, should the export of water from South Africa be allowed? Here, I am not referring to water in its primary form, but water in fruit. What follows is the water content of various fruit types: watermelon (91%), strawberries (91%), grapefruit (91%), peaches (89%), blackberries (88%), papaya (88%), nectarines (88%), plums (87%), oranges (87%), apricots (86%), pineapples (86%), raspberries (86%), apples (86%), blueberries (84%) and mangos (83%).

Besides new sources, the other challenge associated with water provision in South Africa is to do with ‘the last mile’ – getting the water in reservoirs to consumers’ homes.

The Water Department’s assessment that “the possibility of a water deficit is real by 2030, if we continue using it as we use it now”, might appear a tad overoptimistic, considering that consumption might well be the secondary of our water challenges. There should be a realisation that South Africa is facing unprecedented internal and external water supply challenges.