PROPERTY & INVESTMENT
Finally , we need to fill in one more critical piece of missing information if we are to answer this question properly . Work done by the CSIR , shortly after NWRS 1 was published , did future projections of water demand . This resulted in a single graphic that illustrated our national water dilemma in the most powerful way . The two horizontal dashed lines represent NWRS 1 data . The lower line is 38 BCM , representing all the water in existing dams . The upper line represents every drop of water in the country , including that which would need to be recovered from waste using existing technology . The two curves show projected demand in two scenarios . The high-water-use scenario assumed no improvement to efficiency , in which case we would need 63 BCM by 2018 . The second curve assumes major improvement in water use efficiency , in which case we would hit the wall in 2035 . This single graphic is the most accurate depiction of the data shown in NWRS 1 and gives a chilling message that has not been absorbed by our decisionmaking elites .
In conclusion , from an estate management perspective , we can safely say that all current and future development will be fundamentally constrained by our environmental conditions . We can also safely assume that under current management by government officials , no solution is likely to be forthcoming , until such time as they begin to understand the implications of the data shown in these four graphics . Successful estate managers will internalise this data because it means in effect that managing agents , bodies corporate and homeowners associations will increasingly have to deal with these realities themselves . The reason for this is simple – only two functional CMAs exist in the country , so the demand shown in the IDPs cannot be met by the supply reflected in the NWRS , as intended . The CMA process has been a resounding failure , and this has destroyed water security in the country for the foreseeable future . When the ship goes down , each lifeboat is left to fend for itself . This is the core message in the data above , for each of you is in a lifeboat of your own .
15 I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
Dr Anthony Turton