By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) launched its flagship water research centre, Wits:H₂O, in response to South Africa’s deepening water challenges.
Previously known as Centre in Water Research and Development (CIWaRD), Wits:H₂O is a working research grouping that brings together government, business, academia, and civil society to bring real-world solutions to water challenges in South Africa and across the African continent.
The Centre is led by Professor Craig Sheridan, Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Water Research at Wits, supported by Professor Heidi Richards from the Wits School of Chemistry with the support of a large network of interdisciplinary researchers.
South Africa is currently in the midst of a systemic water crisis as a result of the convergence of causal factors such as ageing infrastructure, poor governance and pollution with an increasing population and demand.
While access to water is a natural and basic human right, water crises like we see in South Africa today are human-made: human action can solve them, said Sheridan.
Projections suggest that by mid-century, water deficits could become the norm unless innovative, integrated solutions are urgently adopted.
“We, as South Africans located within the African continent, are facing a water crisis. From regional ‘Day Zero’ type events to ongoing local water supply failures, every person is impacted. Wits:H₂O represents our approach to thinking about water and engaging meaningfully with this crisis,” he said.
The centre collaborates with various other organisations locally and globally, including government business and civil society, to help safeguard the critical resource, with the purpose of combining the best thinking globally to consider the water challenges.
“South Africa is facing a significant skills gap in the water sector. Decades of underinvestment in training and capacity building have left us with too few qualified engineers hydrologists, water managers and sanitation experts,” Sheridan continued.
The centre aims to conduct research and rebuild this essential skills base, while training and mentoring the next generation of professionals who will face the future of the increasing water challenges.
“Wits:H₂O’s vision is to go beyond thinking about solutions, to think about how the solution impact society, and to assist society in responding to our future challenges as they relate to the increasing scarcity of water resources.