Figure 3.2 presents the rainfall patterns of Sakhisizwe Municipality from 1983 to 2012. The rainfall pattern indicates that rainfall is highly variable in the municipality and the variability has been intensifying in the last three decades.
The graph also indicates that rainfall variability in the municipality has been intensifying in the last few years with some years showing some very high peaks and lows, resembling the extreme climatic events such as floods and droughts respectively. The frequency of droughts and floods is also very high.
The annual rainfall pattern shown in the graph shows that total annual rainfall in the municipality has been slightly decreasing as there is a slight descent in the shape of the graph from 2001 to 2012, but the decrease is almost insignificant showing that the municipality is more affected by climate variability other than climate change. The high incidence of drought and flooding is causing water scarcity and poor water quality in the municipality. At times heavy downpours occur within a short period causing floods. Rainfall variability is causing the rain season to become unpredictable affecting agriculture.
The study revealed that intensity of rainfall variability is expected to increase causing high incidences of flooding and drought. From the results of interviews done with the local community, it is noted that at times there are heavy downpours within a short period that cause floods. Moreover, in most cases when such heavy downpours take place and there are floods, the rain season is shortened. Also there are incidences of droughts like the one that was experienced in 2010 and described as the worst drought in more than 50 years (Mandleni, 2011).
3.10. Rural drinking water sources
Garmendia & Foster (2010) emphasized that when planning a water supply scheme for an area, the potential sources of water should first be assessed. Consideration should be given to the quantity of water available to meet present and future needs in the supply area, as well as to the quality of the water. Edwards et al (1993) argued that water that is unfit for human consumption will need to be treated before being distributed.
Water in most rural dwellers can be obtained from one or more of the following sources according to Edwards et al (1993),
I. springs;
II. wells and boreholes;
III. rainwater;
IV. surface water (rivers and dams);
V. combination of the above
3.11. Community water systems
Communities obtain water from two sources: surface water and ground water. People use surface and ground water every day for a variety of purposes, including drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene, in addition to recreational, agricultural, and industrial activities. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the majority of public water systems (91%) are supplied by ground water; however, more persons (68%) are supplied year-round by community water systems that use surface water. This is because large, well-populated metropolitan areas tend to rely on surface water supplies, whereas small, rural areas tend to rely on ground water.
3.11.1. Surface Water
Edwards et al (1993) defined surface water as water that collects on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, reservoir, or ocean. Surface water is constantly replenished through precipitation, and lost through evaporation and seepage into ground water supplies. 68% of community water system users received their water from a surface water source, such as a lake according to United States Geological Survey (USGS) resources on surface water
3.11.2. Ground Water
According to Adelana, & MacDonald (2008), Ground water, which is obtained by drilling wells, is water located below the ground surface in pores and spaces in the rock. According to EPA this water is used by approximately 78% of community water systems in the United States, supplying drinking water to 32% of community water system users. EPA also estimates that approximately 15% of the U.S. population relies on private ground water wells.
3.12. Sustainability of rural water sources
According to Rajiv Gandhi national drinking water mission, National Rural Drinking Water Programme in India, in 2020 shown in figure 7, the majority of rural dwellers (an estimated 57%) will collect their drinking water from community sources such as boreholes, tubewells, protected springs and protected wells. Of the commonly used community source technologies, only boreholes and tube wells appear resilient to most climate changes. However, many such sources rely on community management, which is associated with high rates of failure and contamination. Climate change will increase stresses on community management. Therefore, technologies which appear resilient on a technical level may still fail to deliver sustainable drinking water supplies.
3.13. Drying of water sources in China
In March 2009, a study conducted by Zhang, et al, (2012) in the southwest provinces of the People���s Republic of China (PRC), the typical wet season grew unseasonably dry. It was severe drought one that would spread across a region equivalent to the size of Western Europe and send 20 million people looking and waiting for drinking water as streams, springs, and wells went dry in their rural and mountain communities. Again in 2011, in another usually lush swath of the country, the central and eastern regions saw the Yangtze River Basin parched by drought.
At the height of the Yangtze drought, 3.5 million people had minimal drinking water. After 6 months of drought, the rains came in deadly torrents that caused widespread flooding. The consecutive disasters of drought and flood reaffirmed climate change as a reality to which the country���s consumption rates and management practices must adapt, or face even worse impacts from future disasters.
Drought is a natural occurrence in many places of the PRC, a force of nature that needs to be accepted and reckoned with by better systems of risk management and water resources management. Managing demand, reducing consumption and using water more efficiently is a central element of both systems.
The droughts in the Yangtze Basin and the Southwest, however, had been highly unusual. Precipitation dropped 90% during the Southwest drought and the summer growing season was 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than normal. The drought began to lift by April 2010, exactly a year after it started. By then, however, it had covered areas in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guanxi provinces and spread into parts of Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality. Sixty million people felt the effects of the drought, and 6.5 million hectares (ha) of agricultural land was compromised
Climate change scenarios for the PRC show an increased likelihood of more severe storms and droughts. One of the most striking features of climate change is the impact it has on the monsoon system, bringing new precipitation patterns to the country. Severe precipitation in the southern region has brought flooding, while changing rainfall patterns have brought more droughts in the northern part of the country. The higher temperatures resulting from climate change will reduce runoff into lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and groundwater. Under heat stress, more water than normal will be needed for agriculture, cities, industries, and generating electricity. Yet the ability of the state to meet water demand in ���normal��� years is already strained, let alone in dry or drought-stricken times.
3.14. Drying of Guiyang water streams: Government relief strategies
Zhang et al (2012) documented that the drought that prevailed in Guiyang between years 2009 to 2010 was part of a widespread drought across the southwest provinces. The drought is described in the study as the worst where water reservoirs were reduced to dry cracked earth with intakes abandoned and isolated villages suffered from a lack of basic drinking water as streams, springs, and wells went dry. It went to an extent that, crops were lost, crop yields and industrial production fell, livestock suffered, and fisheries and forests were heavily affected.
According to the study, as the impacts of the disaster became apparent, control and prevention of infectious diseases became a concern for the government of China. Those responsible for disaster relief including the Central Committee and the State Council, officials and volunteers at all levels organized to minimize the losses, provide relief to those affected, and encourage recovery.
Drought relief actions taken during and after the disaster include the following;
I. efforts to improve local information, deliver local drinking water, develop wells or transfer water supplies,
II. Provide financial assistance, and bring demonstrations of new drought-hardened seed and techniques to farmers and villages in the hope of improving results for the next spring planting.
In 2010, Asian Development Bank released the results of a study on drought management practices in China. The consultants concluded that while the country has a finely tuned and strong system of responding to disaster, it found that the country does not prepare for droughts rather it only reacts to them.
The Asian development Bank also stated that an agency to manage the risks associated with various disasters does not exist, and on top of that, there is no national policy requiring local governments to establish or implement strategies to reduce risks associated with droughts. Instead drought is managed as part of an emergency and disaster relief process, which is primarily designed for floods. The disaster response system has been noted by Zhang et al (2012) to be good at coping with short-term emergency needs, but stressed that it is less suitable for managing a drought as a natural and common climatic event.
Zhang et al (2012) advised that since China is affected with drought, they must activate a reactive mode to drought needs to focus policy and resources earlier in the disaster cycle. The country���s focus on disaster management should be expanded to risk management as advised by Zhang et al (2012). In order for the local government of China to improve their resilience to drought, they need to understand and address the factors making them vulnerable to drought.
3.15. Alternative ways of supplying water
Ways of supplying water can be characterized into two. One deals with the infrastructure, which can be centralized or decentralized. The other deals with the water which is used either freshwater only or alternative sources of water.
Alternative sources of water include:
1. Rainwater, which can be harvested and treated locally;
2. Grey water, i.e. non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes; USEPA defines grey water as non-drinkable water that can be reused for irrigation, flushing toilets, and other purposes; grey water can be used immediately or treated and stored; it is distinct from black water, which contains more polluting chemical and biological contaminants; and
3. Reclaimed water, i.e. former wastewater that has been treated to remove solids and certain impurities. It is only intended to be used for non potable uses (e.g. irrigation, dust control, fire suppression); with more advanced treatment, it can be used for indirect potable reuse (i.e. discharged into a water body before being used in the potable water system).
3.16. Alternative Water Sources: Bucksburg Rigde municipality
Study conducted by Erin et al (2008) reported people in of the Bucksburg Rigde municipality use alternative water sources depending on the quality and quantity of water. The study was conducted in three rural areas where water is in shortest and people use the rivers, irrigation canals, dams, and wells during rainy seasons in a village called Dingleydale. Dingleydale���s irrigation canals are the residents��� main source of water. These sources are also used by livestock and dead animals have been found rotting in the same water they use for cooking and drinking.
Another studied rural area called Belfast uses the river while the other called Welverdiend accesses water from some local dams. Both of these sources are also frequented by large animals from surrounding nature reserves. According to the study, in Belfast, one woman reported she had been attacked by a crocodile and had to be treated in the hospital. This use of alternative sources has been documented by Erin et al (2008) with evidence of reported water-borne illnesses in all three rural areas studied, including bilharzia, diarrhoea and cholera.
Mkhuhlu residents also sometimes use river water and were aware of the dangers and were concerned about becoming ill, mostly due to the fact that this might lead to being unable to care for their children and families, and that when they cannot go to work they are unable to pay bills, which affects their credit.
3.17. Role of Government in the provision of water
3.17.1. The Constitution of the republic of South Africa. The right to have access to sufficient water is provided in section 27(1)(b) of the South African Constitution. Section 27(1)(b) read in conjunction with section 27 (2) provides that the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the progressive realization of the right to access of water within its available resources. The provision of clean water in sufficient quantities is important in its own right, as well as in its implications for health, food security and overall economic development, (Monitoring Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa),
3.17.2. The Water Services Act no. 108 of 1997. Section 2 defines the main objectives of the water services Act as: the main objects of the Act are to provide the right of access to basic water supply and the right to basic sanitation necessary to secure sufficient water and an environment not harmful to human health or well-being. Whilst the provision of water pipes and toilets is important, the way in which individuals and households access services is just as important (RSA, 1997 : 14).
3.17.3. Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The Reconstruction and Development Programme is a policy framework document drafted by the African National Congress in 1994. One of the key programmes is meeting basic needs of the South African population in an integrated manner, combining urban, peri-urban and rural development processes (African National Congress, 1994: 16) .The provision of water and sanitation are basic needs which are outlined in the RDP document. The housing standard in the policy document states that a house must include sanitary facilities, drainage and convenient access to clean water.
3.18. KZN government assures residents of water relief strategies
According to the eye witness news (EWN) 2015, kwaZulu-Natal faced a crippling drought that the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department says plans are underway to implement relief strategies. Several rivers have already run dry leaving those in small towns worst hit.
MEC NomusaDube-Ncube says the department will soon receive disaster relief funds.
MEC said they have got to get more trucks to take water and store it for people so everyone has access to water.