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Small Scale Water Supply & Sanitation

Although surface water delivered through large transfer schemes and dams is an important source of fresh water in the Limpopo River basin, the arid regions of the basin are highly dependent on groundwater (as noted in Groundwater in the Basin) and the small-scale supply of surface water. The majority of users are informal small-scale users in rural areas with use governed by informal local arrangements (van Koppen et al. 2008).

The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) is responsible for monitoring progress towards meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDG) related to drinking-water and sanitation. The most recent data provided by the JMP for each of the riparian countries is for 2008. The tables below provide the results as a percentage of each country's rural and urban population (WHO/UNICEF 2010).

Table 1: 2008 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme-Access to Improved Water as an Indicator.

Country	Access to Improved Water Source¹
	% of Urban Population	% of RuralPopulation
Botswana	99	90
Mozambique	77	29
South Africa	99	78
Zimbabwe	99	72

1. Note: an improved drinking-water source is defined as one that, by nature of its construction or through active intervention, is protected from outside contamination, in particular from contamination with faecal matter.
Source: WHO/UNICEF 2010

Table2: 2008 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme-Access to Improved Sanitation Facilities as an Indicator.

Country	Access to Improved Sanitation Facilities¹
	% of Urban Population	% of RuralPopulation
Botswana	74	39
Mozambique	38	4
South Africa	84	65
Zimbabwe	56	37

1. Note: for MDG monitoring, an improved sanitation facility is defined as one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact.
Source: WHO/UNICEF 2010

As noted in Table 1, access to an improved water source is highest in Botswana and South Africa with almost 100 % access for the urban population and 90 % and 78 % of the rural population, respectively. However, in Zimbabwe almost one third of the rural population does not have access to an improved water source, while in Mozambique this number is even lower. In terms of access to sanitation facilities (Table 2) all countries, with the exception of South Africa, have limited access to sanitation facilities with more than half of the populations without.

South Africa

In South Africa the Limpopo aquifer, as discussed in Groundwater, is accessed typically by hand-dug wells, wellpoint systems, infiltration galleries, and boreholes. However, appropriate drilling methods are seldom used which could increase the capacity of the boreholes.

Water and the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in South Africa

In South Africa 21 million people lacked basic sanitation in the mid 1990s (Pallett 1997). The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was launched in 1994, to provide water and sanitation to all South Africans by 2001. This was defined as providing a minimum of 25 liters of potable water per person per day available 12 months of the year from a tap less than 200 m away. Regarding sanitation, the goal was one well constructed ventilated pit toilet per household.

The World Development Indicators from 2006 show this programme has been successful as 100 % of the South African population has access to improved sanitation facilities.

Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, 70 % of the population lives in rural areas. Water is consumed in over 90 % of cases without treatment in Zimbabwe and as a result, the most deaths related to safe water and sanitation occurs in rural areas (Nare et al. 2006). For rural communities, water is typically sourced from boreholes for domestic supply and approximately one third for agriculture and productive activities. Water quality, as discussed in Water Quality of The River Basin, is an important determinant at the success of rural water schemes (WDM at the Basin Level).

Almost half of households surveyed in the Nare et al. study reported water quality issues due to salinity or bacteria (Nare et al. 2006). Although no published cases of industrial impacts on water quality are known, acid mine drainage and metal contamination is noted from mines north western Zimbabwe (Nare et al. 2006).

Nitrate pollution from sewage has been noted in the Beitbridge area, while results from Mwenezi and Gwanda areas, suggest salinity and turbidity issues (Nare et al. 2006). Gold panning also causes siltation and mercury pollution.