Abstract
The National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998) recognises that water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource and that it is the responsibility of Government to ensure that the resource is managed in an equitable and sustainable manner. Due to the high costs and limited exploitable potential associated with supply-side water management solutions, demand-side management is becoming increasingly critical to ensure water security in South Africa. Fundamental to this approach is the appropriate pricing of water resources. The current water act aims to apply water pricing tiers based on the principles of economic efficiency, social equity, financial sustainability and ecological integrity. Failure to implement both supply-side and demand-side water management strategies effectively may result in the prospect of South Africa facing chronic water scarcity within 2–3 decades.
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Notes
- 1.
Note that the resource rent which reflects the scarcity value of the resource (such as water) will accrue in full or in part to either the provider (the water utility), government or users depending on property rights systems and production relations in place.
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Vawda, M., King, N., Muller, M. (2010). Pricing of Water for Cost Recovery, Economic Efficiency and Social Equity. In: Schreiner, B., Hassan, R. (eds) Transforming Water Management in South Africa. Global Issues in Water Policy, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9367-7_9
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