"Underground aquifers are fed by rainwater, so drought will impact on their abstraction capacity," said Nel. "We are also seeing more demand on groundwater as towns expand, higher levels of services are required and municipalities must ensure water delivery is meeting the demand."
After South Africa developed a large number of well-fields in recent decades, the country now faces the danger of depleting them through careless use - unless water service providers such as local and district municipalities are provided with better information about the policies and practices that need to be applied and implemented.
"Each of the agencies in this field has their role to play, and consulting engineers and scientists like SRK are already making valuable technical contributions," he said. "But we can do more at a number of levels, such as raising awareness at district municipalities, and giving local municipalities practical training and ongoing mentoring."
Nel emphasised the need to roll out a scientific learning programme that relates directly to each town or region where it is presented, so that it can be applied immediately in addressing local groundwater challenges.
"There are plenty of generic 'groundwater training' resources and documents available but we need to move beyond the general to the specific, ensuring that role-players engage practically with their issues during these sessions and take back solutions they can implement with the help of mentors," said Nel.
Catchment management agencies (CMAs) are being established to pursue integrated water management within water management areas (WMA) and coordinate functions of other institutions involved in water related matters. However, it will take time for the CMAs to fully engage all groundwater users.
More urgent, however, is the position of the water services authorities (WSAs) typically the district municipalities, who oversee the work of water services providers (WSPs), typically local municipalities, in ensuring actual delivery of water services and maintenance of facilities.
Training should be tailored for each of these levels, as their needs are different, he said. The district municipalities' water planning personnel, for example, need to understand that groundwater must be monitored and managed; numerical models can be developed and predictions made about future borehole performance at current abstraction levels.
At local municipality level, the required focus is on how to physically monitor usage - using equipment such as flow meters and water-level meters - and how to manage groundwater contamination. The training can therefore include an assessment of municipal and private groundwater abstraction, identifying the various users so that the local authority can engage them in controlling usage. The location of possible contamination sources like refuse dumps, waste water discharge, cemeteries and abattoirs can also be mapped.
"Water services authorities and providers receive funding from various sources, such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, to install the necessary water systems, but they are seldom equipped or funded to scientifically manage their groundwater sources," he said.
"The training content needs to be applied to their specific conditions, so that delegates can be assisted to develop a groundwater monitoring programme - and supported with mentoring to ensure ongoing implementation."
