Busting myths around urban household water use in South Africa

Abstract

Human behaviour is one of the main forces in the utilisation of natural resources. Nowhere has the way people use water been more illustrative than in the current drought-ravaged Cape Town where calls for more prudent water behaviour has led to the avoidance of the dreaded ‘Day Zero’ , a scenario where the water network would be turned off to 75% of the City and residents would have to collect water from distribution points. This article explores some myths and how these could constitute human behaviour around household water use. Myth 1: Overflowing dams mean the drought is over South Africa’s frequent droughts have, over the years, played their part in the way the country manages and conserves water resources. Droughts have been one of the driving forces behind the South African government’s water infrastructure programmes aimed at augmenting the country’s water resources or to convey water from where it is in abundance to where it is needed (i.e. through water transfer schemes).

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