Study finds socioeconomic inequality as the biggest problem behind water shortages in urban areas
The researchers focused on Cape Town in South Africa to study the consumption habits of wealthier city dwellers compared to poorer ones. Between 2015 and 2017, Cape Town experienced a severe drought, unfolding into an unprecedented water crisis known as Day Zero. Photo: iStock Extravagant habits of the wealthy elite, like swimming pools, well-maintained lawns and regularly washed cars, are depriving poorer communities of basic water access, a new study has found. Socioeconomic inequalities could be driving urban water crises as much as factors like climate change or population growth in cities, it said.
The study was published in the journal Nature Sustainability April 10, 2023. The researchers developed a system-dynamic model for the study to represent unequal water consumption by city residents.
The team focused on Cape Town in South Africa to study the consumption habits of wealthier city dwellers compared to poorer ones.
The researchers chose the metropolitan area of Cape Town as a case for two main reasons: Firstly, the city is marked by stark socioeconomic inequalities and a starkly segregated urban space. Second, between 2015 and 2017, Cape Town experienced a severe drought, unfolding into an unprecedented water crisis known as Day Zero.
The model simulated the uneven water consumption across Cape Town’s different social groups before, during and after the occurrence of the drought. Most of the model’s values are based on fieldwork undertaken in Cape Town to March 2020 from May 2019.
The researchers identified five social groups — the elite or the people who live in spacious homes with large gardens and swimming pools; the upper-middle income; lower-middle income; lower income and the informal dwellers or the people who tend to live in small houses at the edge of the city.
The richest 13.7 per cent of people used more than 51 per cent of the water consumed by the entire city, the study found. Informal dwellers and lower-income households together constitute about 61.5 per cent of Cape Town’s population but consume 27.3 per cent of the city’s water.
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The elite households in Cape Town used 2,161 litres of water per day, according to the study. The water consumption of upper-middle-income households reached about 988.78 litres per day. On the other hand, lower-income families use only 178 litres per day and informal households consume 41 litres a day.
Since 2020, more than 80 metropolitan cities across the world, including London, Miami, Barcelona, Beijing, Tokyo, Melbourne, Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow, Bangalore, Chennai, Jakarta, Sydney, Maputo, Harare, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Rome have faced severe water shortages due to droughts and unsustainable water use.
The crisis could worsen still as the gap between the rich and the poor widens in many parts of the world, the study said.
The researchers also said increased use of private boreholes in times of shortage by the richest citizens substantially depleted groundwater resources.
About 2.4 billion people worldwide living in cities could face water shortages in 2050, up from 933 million people in 2016, according to a United Nations report.
Currently, the researchers highlight that efforts to manage water supplies in water-scarce cities mostly focus on technical solutions, such as developing more efficient water infrastructure.
South Africa, which witnessed a year-long drought in Cape Town, is using new, unique methods to increase its water supply: By recycling and reusing its wastewater.
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The study confirms the only way to preserve available water resources is by altering privileged lifestyles, limiting water use for amenities and redistributing income and water resources more equally.
Reorienting current water management and drought adaptation policies towards new political-economic paradigms to prevent overconsumption and inequalities was also suggested by the study.
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