The optics of ‘Day Zero’ and the role of the state in water security for a township in Cape Town (South Africa)

LaVanchy, G. Thomas; Kerwin, Michael W.; Kerwin, Gregory; McCarroll, Meghan

doi:10.1080/02508060.2021.1946763

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, the city introduced the catchphrase Day Zero. This phrase was a warning that its decreasing water source would shortly be unable to supply water to its inhabitants, tourists, and various industries including agriculture (LaVanchy et al, 2021). However, the City postponed its Day Zero prediction due to a drop in water demand, and a significant amount of rainfall that began in June 2018 thereby helping dam levels to recover.…”

Section: Introduction To Cape Town South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, the city has moved beyond the intimidations of lack of water supply, but its water supply structures remain fragile mainly because climate change and sea surface temperature warming threaten to further disturb the timing and position of wintertime storm fronts necessary for reservoir replenishment. Furthermore, it is convincing that multi-year droughts comparable to or worse than the Day Zero drought, will affect Cape Town again (LaVanchy et al, 2019(LaVanchy et al, , 2021 which emphasizes the need for policy mechanisms to be in place for achieving water sustainability in Cape Town, Western Cape Province of South Africa.…”

Section: Introduction To Cape Town South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Policy interventions to address water security impacted by climate change: Adaptation strategies of three case studies across different geographic regions

et al. 2022

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Water shortage in terms of both physical and economic water scarcity is still a major issue globally. The looming climate change threat has increased the adverse threats to water security in different regions. However, policy solutions to water security vary in different geographical regions and at different scales (local, regional, national, etc.). Understanding the successes and challenges of different policy solutions is critical to scaling-up successful policies and addressing water security holistically. This paper aims to explore the effects of implementing policies at different scales in three different case study contexts: 1. two Counties in California in the USA, 2. the City of Cape Town in South Africa and 3. the Country of Bangladesh. These case studies highlight various implemented policies and their effectiveness in each context. We reviewed relevant research papers consisting of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings and gray literature using a content analysis approach based on keywords such as water scarcity, water shortage, climate change, policies, interventions and solutions. Based on this cross-case analysis, we present key strategies moving forward, including: reallocation of water based on different community and sector needs, the importance of stakeholders engagement and public awareness, and a need to implement both short and long-term management plans. There is no one-size fits all policy solution to water scarcity. Understanding the context, scale, and cultural environment will be a key to future water security-focused interventions and policies.

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Section: Introduction To Cape Town South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction To Cape Town South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy interventions to address water security impacted by climate change: Adaptation strategies of three case studies across different geographic regions

et al. 2022

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“…Water security refers to a household's ability to secure ample amounts of quality water for subsistence and to safeguard against water-related disasters in a peaceful environment (Gerlak et al, 2018;Meissner et al, 2018;UN-Water, 2013: 1). Even though continued access to safe drinking water is a significant problem in the developed world, especially among the First Nations of Canada, it remains an even more significant challenge in low-income countries where over 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water (LaVanchy et al, 2021;Alcantara et al, 2020;Butler et al, 2016). Given the centrality of water to human survival, the United Nations (UN) in 2010 recognized the right to water, noting that guaranteed access to safe and potable water is a prerequisite to the enjoyment of all other human rights (Ait-Kadi, 2016; UN, 2014).…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political ecology of domestic water access and use in urban Malawi

Kusi-Appiah

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Rapid urbanization has worsened the water shortage problem in sub-Saharan African cities, with most people using water from sources other than official water supply systems. However, dominant accounts of why urban households face water shortages remain confined to the formal water sector, with explanations privileging market forces and institutional dynamics as significant barriers, with little or no attention to the role of non-market relations in mediating access to water among households on the periphery of municipal supply grids. Using Mzuzu (Malawi) as a case study, I applied theoretical perspectives grounded in political ecology and feminist political ecology to examine sociocultural and political strategies the poor mobilize to access water for daily use. The findings of qualitative research (n=52) indicate that the urban poor seek to address the problem of water shortage processually, assembling a set of contingent socio-spatial and temporal strategies that allow them to bridge between different spells and sources of water according to household utility purposes. Specifically, the study found that ganyu, an informal form of labour rooted in Malawi's history, granted the urban poor secondary access to the same water supply system from which they are officially excluded. At the same time, material control over water allowed ganyu providers to leverage significant control over the labour of ganyu seekers and women's bodies, suggesting that water is a medium through which historical materializations of colonial labour relations find new expression. The study also reveals that the poor negotiate competing water needs by relying on symbolic meanings and cosmological and cultural beliefs to make sense of water and justify the domestic use of water from otherwise potentially contaminated sources. These findings show the intimate connection and multiscalar integration between the water supply system's formal, impersonal, market realm and the informal, interpersonal non-market social relations of water. Although the design of this ii study was partially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the findings can potentially make significant theoretical and empirical contributions to our understanding of the sociocultural and political forces that shape access to water among the urban poor. The thesis concludes with recommendations and directions for future research. iii Preface Three manuscripts are represented in this dissertation. All three manuscripts are the work of Andy Kusi-Appiah. I was responsible for developing the research questions/objectives, study design, data collection tools, interviewing, analysing the data collected and writing the manuscripts. The co-author of all three manuscripts is my dissertation advisor, Dr. Paul Mkandawire. The three manuscripts are: Chapter 4: Political Ecology of Household Water Security among the Urban poor in Malawi. This manuscript has been submitted to the Journal of Wellbeing, Space and Society and has been published. Dr. Paul Mkandawire provided thorough input, including rev...

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Political ecology of household water security among the urban poor in Malawi

Kusi-Appiah

Mkandawire

2022

Wellbeing, Space and Society

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The optics of ‘Day Zero’ and the role of the state in water security for a township in Cape Town (South Africa)

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Policy interventions to address water security impacted by climate change: Adaptation strategies of three case studies across different geographic regions

Policy interventions to address water security impacted by climate change: Adaptation strategies of three case studies across different geographic regions

Political ecology of domestic water access and use in urban Malawi

Political ecology of household water security among the urban poor in Malawi

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