Hypothesis in the Influence of drought in Gauteng
Answers
This is the focus of an upcoming report from the Gauteng-City Region Observatory (GCRO) on water security, which outlines the key risks the region faces to its supply.
“Our infrastructure is designed to say ‘don’t worry, we’ve got this’, but as we get more water-stressed, as we don’t manage our catchments properly and droughts kick in, that resilience of the engineering system becomes more pressurised,” said Gillian Maree, a senior researcher at the observatory.
The observatory, a partnership between the universities of Wits and Johannesburg and the Gauteng provincial government, points out that the large-scale water supply infrastructure in Gauteng - the dams, water treatment plants and pipes - that brings water in has created a buffer for residents.
“Urban residents don’t immediately feel the impact of a drought and we often only notice it a year or two into the drought when dam levels are low.