When there is not enough water to meet everyone’s needs, deciding who has access to water first is not just a technical question – it’s also one of fairness. Many water discussions focus on water scarcity. However, having enough water is only part of the challenge. Water needs to be shared fairly between households, farmers, businesses and the environment.
South Africa is one of the world’s most water-scarce countries. South Africans know what water shortages look like: taps dry, water restrictions, failing municipal infrastructure and growing competition for water between cities, farms and industry. This raises a difficult question: what does “fair” actually mean?
Municipalities in South Africa have a legal duty to ensure everyone has equal access to water for their basic daily needs. However, equal does not always mean equitable. Giving a wealthy suburb and a struggling farming community the same amount of water may be equal, but it is not necessarily equitable if one community depends on that water to grow food and earn a living while the other uses it to fill a swimming pool.
Read Food Garden or Swimming Pool? to learn more about essential principles and practices to ensure that water is shared fairly.
