Department of Hydrology, University of Zululand
A.J. Hall and H.K. Mbalati
At the University of Zululand’s Department of Hydrology, we study water: where it comes from, how it moves through our landscapes, and how it can be managed in a country where water is not always guaranteed.
To this end, as part of this year’s World Water Month, the Department will be sharing a series of short articles exploring the importance of water and the challenges of managing this vital resource in South Africa.
Most of us start our day the same way, turning on the tap to brush our teeth, taking a quick shower before class, or putting the kettle on for coffee. It is such a routine part of daily life that we rarely stop to think about it.
But for many communities across South Africa, water does not always flow so easily.
In some places, taps run dry for hours or even days at a time. For others, water must be collected from communal standpipes or delivered by tankers.
What many of us take for granted is, for millions of people, uncertain.
South Africa is naturally a water-scarce country and is characterised as a semi-arid country (i.e. too “wet” to be a desert but still relatively dry). The nation receives an average annual rainfall of only about 464 mm, far below the global average (around 800 mm). This means that the water available to support our rivers, ecosystems, agriculture, industries, and communities is already limited. As the population grows and demand increases, managing this precious resource becomes even more important.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has repeatedly emphasised that the future of South Africa depends on careful and responsible management of its water resources.
Yet water scarcity is not only a national policy issue; it is something that connects directly to our everyday lives, including right here on our campus.
Think about how much water you used before your first lecture today. From brushing your teeth and taking a shower, to the coffee you grab between lectures, the food prepared in campus cafeterias, and even the experiments conducted in university laboratories; water quietly supports almost every part of university life.
Because water is so readily available when we turn on a tap, it is easy to forget the long journey it has taken to get there. Every drop flowing through taps at the University of Zululand is part of a much larger system. Rainfall feeds rivers and dams, water is stored and treated, and then transported through infrastructure before it finally reaches our homes and campus buildings.
Understanding this journey helps us appreciate just how valuable water truly is.
The good news is that small actions can make a meaningful difference. Simple habits such as taking shorter showers, reporting leaking taps, and avoiding unnecessary water waste can help conserve water. When these actions are adopted by many students and staff members across campus, the collective impact can be significant.
Water may seem ordinary because it is always there, but in a water-scarce country such as South Africa, it is one of our most precious resources.
Because in South Africa, every drop truly counts.
In the next article in this series, we will explore how climate change is expected to influence rainfall patterns, droughts, and water availability in South Africa, and what this could mean for the country’s water future.
At the University of Zululand, hydrology students and researchers continue to study these challenges and work toward solutions that will help secure South Africa’s water future.
