Water supply challenges in urban and rural areas of Eastern Cape
Authors:   , Dolo Mpumelelo 
Published: June 2021

Water is regarded as the most important substance found on earth. There is no substitute for it. The daily running of production businesses, industrial firms and agricultural production that help sustain the economy of countries are largely dependent on the availability of water for them to function. The importance of water cannot be over emphasised. The food which is consumed daily depends on water; it can therefore be safely concluded that without water there would be no food, and without food there would be no life. Despite the importance of water in relation to human life, animals and plants, research studies show that the its availability becoming increasingly deficient around the globe. Water levels of major dams and rivers around the world are dropping, limiting the supply of potable water to those dependent on them. Global warming is one factor that is influencing the dropping of water levels, through evaporation. Other factors include climate change, drought and population growth. In South Africa, the government has been fighting a continuous battle of trying to address the backlog of water infrastructure, particularly in the areas which were disadvantaged by the apartheid government. These areas include rural areas, small towns (semi-urban) and townships. The Eastern Cape province in South Africa is top of the list from a backlog point of view. Rural dwellers migrate to urban areas for various reasons such as better education, better health care, job opportunities and more efficient services. Water supply is one of the services which is more adequately supplied in the cities compared to the rural areas. Even though the supplied water in the urban areas of the Eastern Cape is not the best standard when compared to other cities around the country or the world, it is still at an acceptable standard. Thus, this study was conducted to seek ways of improving the supply of water in the urban and rural areas of the Eastern Cape. The availability and the quality of water differs between the urban and rural areas. The purpose of this study was to seek ways of bridging the gap between these areas while improving the standard of water supply in both rural and urban areas. While working towards improving the lives of the Eastern Cape people, the study also seeks to promote water preservation and awareness to the people of the province. In order to find better alternatives which have been tested in various places around the world, an in-depth literature review was conducted in the study. This functioned as an effective comparison of what is obtained in different places around the world and the context of this study, which is the Eastern Cape. A survey method was used to gather data regarding the problems surrounding water supply and options that could be adopted to remedy those problems. The survey was conducted in the form of a self-observation assessment, questionnaire for households in urban and rural areas and interview sessions with prominent government entities and local technical service providers. The survey covered the whole spectrum of individuals and groups that play a major role in the supply and usage of water. The study was conducted within three municipalities of the Eastern Cape. These municipalities cover approximately two-third of the Eastern Cape considering the size of population in those areas. The municipalities covered by the study were: Amathole District Municipality (ADM), Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) and OR Tambo District Municipality (ORTDM). The findings from the study showed that indeed the standard of water supply between urban and rural areas was not equal. This relates to the purification methods, the convenience of collecting water by users, the quality of infrastructure being constructed (due to good or poor monitoring during construction) and the quality of the water as well as operation and maintenance response from the various service providers. Moreover, it was found that there was an acceptable level of awareness by citizens when it comes to using water, and precautions to save it were being taken by some. However, some dominant factors such as poor management, poor infrastructure resulting in leaks, climate change, run-offs and population growth were putting a strain on the existing water resources which is not coping with the increasing demand by people. Recommendations made in the study to balance the supply of water in rural areas and urban areas include: improving the purification of water so as to achieve a standard quality within the Eastern Cape; that rural areas be allowed to have an option of having yard or house connections, particularly those who are willing to pay rates at a scale suiting their class or standard; and that water service providers make it their responsibility to extend reticulation networks if there is expansion or development of more houses in rural areas in order to keep the distance minimal to standpipes