Boreholes are booming in a drying South Africa

By Surina Esterhuyse, The Conversation 

In South Africa, a water-scarce country, groundwater is a vital supply for small towns and commercial farming. Approximately 13% of South Africa’s groundwater resources are used for domestic supply, with about 400 towns getting at least part of their water from groundwater, pumped out of the ground using boreholes.

Commercial agriculture uses more than 60% of South Africa’s groundwater resources.

Groundwater is less affected by evaporation, making it a natural buffer during droughts and climate change, but it still needs strong regulation to prevent overuse and pollution.

One of the problems in South Africa is that not all the data on how many boreholes have been drilled and how much groundwater is being used is reported to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s national database. Much information is missing and this is one of the biggest problems in groundwater management today.

Recently, South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation released draft regulations to change this and to help protect