{"id":1405,"date":"2012-10-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/uncategorized\/1405\/eskom-set-to-accelerate-water-crisis\/"},"modified":"2019-11-06T08:23:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T08:23:47","slug":"eskom-set-to-accelerate-water-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/blogs\/1405\/eskom-set-to-accelerate-water-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Eskom Set to Accelerate Water Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Coal power dries up SA\u2019s water resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"leader\">Coal-fired electricity is a major threat to South Africa\u2019s already stressed water resources \u2013 and Eskom\u2019s new mega coal plants are set to make matters even worse, further compromising water access for the poor. Currently almost a million South African households still have no access to water.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"fact-page\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"factstitle\">Fast Facts:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"onthispage\" class=\"onthispage\" style=\"display: block;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Eskom\u2019s coal power is crippling SA\u2019s water resources. Coal is replaceable, but there are no alternatives to water.<br \/>\n<a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TtJOjV\" data-text=\"Eskom's coal power is crippling SA's water resources. Coal is replaceable, but there are no alternatives to water!\" data-related=\"MikeBaillie\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><br \/>\n<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,\"script\",\"twitter-wjs\");<\/script><\/li>\n<li>Eskom\u2019s \u2018water-efficient\u2019 coal plant, Kusile, will use 2,9 Million litres of water an hour.<br \/>\n<a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/QnLOcL\" data-text=\"Eskom\u2019s \u2018water-saving\u2019 coal plant, Kusile, will use 2,9 Million litres of water an hour &gt;&gt;\" data-via=\"GreenpeaceAfric\" data-related=\"MikeBaillie\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><br \/>\n<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,\"script\",\"twitter-wjs\");<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,\"script\",\"twitter-wjs\");\n\/\/ ]]&gt;<\/script><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n \t\n\n\n\n<li>Eskom\u2019s coal power severely depletes our water, and drives climate change \u2014 further stressing SA water reserves.\n<a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/RQpWZb\" data-text=\"Eskom's coal power severely depletes our water, and drives climate change -- further stressing SA water reserves:\" data-related=\"MikeBaillie\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a>\n<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,\"script\",\"twitter-wjs\");<\/script><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n \t\n\n\n\n<li>For more shocking coal and water-related facts, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/campaigns\/Climate-change\/Poisoned-Power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/40fe515c-40fe515c-waterhungrycoal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A new report<\/a> by Greenpeace Africa makes clear connections between coal power and water scarcity, outlining how the South African government and Eskom are making disastrous choices in favour of coal expansion. These energy choices come at the expense of scarce water resources, people\u2019s heath, and affordable electricity.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n\u201cEskom uses just over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/News\/Blog\/the-hidden-water-cost-of-south-africas-coal-a\/blog\/41111\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a staggering 10 000 litres of water a second<\/a>, the same amount a single person would use in one year. The utility\u2019s reckless investment in new coal-fired power stations clearly puts South Africa\u2019s scarce water supplies at risk,\u201d said Melita Steele, climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n\u201cDue to growing water shortages, competition for water is likely to increase between the agricultural, electricity, and residential sectors. This could lead to conflicts over water. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrc.org.za\/News\/Pages\/Waterscarcity%E2%80%93anunresolvedissueinmanypartsofthecountryleadstoprotestsoverservicedelivery.aspx\">According to research<\/a> conducted by the Water Research Commission, water scarcity is already leading to service delivery protests in the country. With as much as 98% of South Africa\u2019s water already allocated, the question is: where will the water for Eskom\u2019s new coal-fired power stations come from?\u201d\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\nOf the 22 mines that supply Eskom with coal, half were operating without a valid water license in 2010. This lack of transparency in the water sector is an additional threat to our water, on top of Eskom\u2019s water-depleting coal addiction. Most of this information about water licenses is kept from the public domain, a clear threat to accountability and the protection of our country\u2019s water.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n\u201cSouth Africans have a right to know how water is being allocated, managed, and polluted. The current allocation of water to the coal mining industry and Eskom for coal-fired electricity is not transparent, accountable, or sustainable. Water is not just an environmental issue, it is a critical constraint to future development, and it is a fundamental issue at the heart of justice, economics, and human rights\u201d added Steele.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/40fe515c-40fe515c-waterhungrycoal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 5px; float: left;\" title=\"Download 'Water-Hungry Coal' report\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/56c0d94f-56c0d94f-water-hungry-coal-download.jpg\" alt=\"Download 'Water-Hungry Coal' report\" width=\"195\" height=\"302\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\nSouth Africa is facing huge political decisions around the allocation of water. If investments were shifted to essentially \u2018water-free\u2019 renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency, this would drastically reduce the water required for electricity generation, deliver sustainable electricity to all South Africans, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/News\/news\/More-Jobs-and-Progress-for-South-Africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">create jobs<\/a>, and help avoid water insecurity and conflict.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n\u201cIt is still possible to pull back from the brink of crisis, but only if the right choices are made today.It is time to end the era of coal in South Africa through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/News\/news\/The-Advanced-Energy-Revolution-Report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a just transition towards renewable energy<\/a>. Our ability to deal with a changing climate and a future water crisis depends on it. The South African government and Eskom must realise that there are very effective substitutes for coal, but there are no alternatives to water\u201d, concluded Steele.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left;\" title=\"Eskom's Coal Power is Crippling our Water\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/d583484c-d583484c-coalcripplesourwater.gif\" alt=\"Eskom's Coal Power is Crippling our Water\" \/>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div>\n\tCoal-fired electricity is a major threat to South Africa\u2019s already stressed water resources \u2013 and Eskom\u2019s new mega coal plants are set to make matters even worse, further compromising water access for the poor. Currently almost a million South African households still have no access to water.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[35,49],"p4-page-type":[48],"class_list":["post-1405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-protecttheenvironment","tag-water","tag-lifestyle","p4-page-type-blogs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8411,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions\/8411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}