A critical evaluation of urban water management: comparative case studies of Meadowlands Township, Soweto and Florida suburb, Roodepoort

Abstract

Water is a vital component for human survival but unsustainable patterns of water consumption are still evident internationally. In South Africa, water conservation has traditionally been limited to the responsibility of the state, with little effort being made by the consumers. However, as water scarcity increasingly becomes a problem, government and residents need to find out how urban South Africans can access water and implement water conservation methods in their homes without the support of government supervision programmes. This study explores the relationship between urban residences in two different parts of Johannesburg (Meadowlands in Soweto and Florida in Roodepoort) and their consumption, perception and usage of water and its conservation. Based on interviews with residents from different backgrounds, the results of this research show that residents have varied but generally limited concern for water issues. Findings from this study indicate that for a resident to conserve water, the type of abode in which he/she lives is irrelevant. Whether the resident lives in suburban home or small government funded housing, the attitudes of the interviewees and the perceptions which they expressed regarding solutions to the water dilemma proved to be similar: people in these urban areas are aware of the importance of water conservation, however, there is limited practice thereof.