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South Africa, Our Burning Planet

Women leaders tackle South Africa’s growing water crisis

Women leaders tackle South Africa’s growing water crisis
The International Women’s Day 2025 event hosted by the Water Research Commission (WRC) where discussions explored governance, resilience and infrastructure for water security. (Photo: Mboma Consulting)
Kristin Engel
By Kristin Engel
16 Mar 2025
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While South Africa’s water crisis deepens, women are leading the charge by driving research, policy and community-based solutions to secure water resilience. From self-supply systems in rural areas to technological innovations and policy reform, their efforts are shaping a more sustainable future.

Female scientists, engineers, policymakers and community activists are at the forefront of efforts to secure water resilience and sustainability in South Africa. Their leadership is proving essential in developing innovative solutions, fostering inclusive policies and trying to ensure that the most vulnerable communities are not left behind.

South Africa’s water scarcity is making itself more and more apparent with an increase in droughts, combined with mismanagement and failing water and sanitation infrastructure, leaving millions without reliable access to clean water. 

This crisis threatens livelihoods, food security and overall economic stability. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) estimates that more than a third of South Africa’s municipalities are struggling with water supply issues.

On top of climate change contributing to worsening droughts in the region, this is creating severe water shortages and water scarcity in key regions. Accordingly, women, who bear the brunt of responsibility for household collection and sanitation, are disproportionately affected.

International Women’s Day event


modley molwantwa gaegane pledge From left: Dr Lee-Ann Modley, Dr Jennifer Molwantwa and Lesego Gaegane at the signing the Water Sustainability Pledge at the International Women’s Day 2025 event hosted by the Water Research Commission (WRC). (Photo: Mboma Consulting)



During an International Women’s Day event hosted by the Water Research Commission (WRC) on 12 March 2025, women’s contributions to the water sector and their role in water security were in the spotlight with female scientists, engineers, policymakers and community activists at the forefront.

One discussion focused on integrating technological innovations with grassroots efforts. Women-led initiatives are increasingly playing a role in developing water conservation strategies, improving sanitation infrastructure and implementing climate adaptation measures.

Women in the science and engineering fields are spearheading ample research on water purification methods, as well as working to improve overall access to safe drinking water. This was addressed in a panel discussion that included Professor Esta van Heerden, director of iWater, Dr Lee-Ann Modley from the University of Johannesburg and Zanele Precious Sifundza from GIZs.

water research commission event The International Women’s Day 2025 event hosted by the Water Research Commission (WRC) where discussions explored governance, resilience and infrastructure for water security. (Photo: Mboma Consulting)



Ngowenani Nohayi, senior research officer in water governance and political economy at the International Water Management Institute  (IWMI), told the panel that she looked at water in two ways. 

One was viewing water as a peace builder or a unifier. The other was as a cause of conflict.

“The work that I do is grounded in community voices, bringing those voices to these conversations… Communities are doing a lot of things on their own, there is so much innovation on the ground, so how can we take that and elevate that?” Nohayi said.

A different kind of breakthrough in water management 


Nohayi challenged the traditional idea of what constituted “groundbreaking” innovation in water management. 

She said “groundbreaking” water innovations that made a difference were subjective because it was typically thought that this related to hi-tech innovations, AI water monitoring tools, and so on. 

But for communities, Nohayi said a groundbreaking innovation in that space could be a typical solution to having access to water. 

For example, Nohayi said IWMI had done much research on what it called “self-supply”.

“Self-supply is groundbreaking in the sense that communities are doing it for themselves. Oftentimes in periurban communities, [they] go to the streets and protest because they have no water. But here is a solution which is self-supply, which is often done in a rural context. It is not a one-size-fits-all,” Nohayi said.

Rural communities have developed their own supply, depending on where the water source is. They build a supply system, extracting water from a mountainside, for example, but the government and experts advise them that they can have water for domestic use.

Read more: As water systems fail across the country, rural communities look to self-supply

In Limpopo, a project funded by the African Development Bank and African Water Facility, carried out by IWMA and partners, found that the primary source of water in households for four out of six villages is self-supply.

They found that most use two or more water sources in their households, aside from rainwater harvesting.

“For us at IWMI that is groundbreaking, because what we are seeing is that they can package this in a way that it can be scaled in another area. But we are cognisant of the fact that it is not one size fits all… right now it fits the rural context, not so much the periurban with all the bylaws.

Nohayi said that self-supply was groundbreaking in how communities were taking their frustrations about the water crisis and turning them into active contributions in exploring how they could access water themselves.

Lesego Gaegane, Senior Project Manager at the Water Research Commission and moderator of the discussion, said it was important that communities gained access to water, especially when they saw communities located close to dam sources were still without running household water.

“As we are developing these solutions and bringing them forth to the sector, we tailor-make them to the specific contexts. Particularly urban solutions that are tailored to urban areas, but we also have periurban and rural solutions that we make sure are tailored to those contexts,” said Gaegane.

Push for tangible change 


The event was not just about talks, but about action under its theme.

Nohayi said that what was important at this stage was moving beyond commitments to real, tangible change in how they approached gender equality, inclusion and water security.

“Often, we look at women as just beneficiaries of water, so how can we get to a space where women are not just beneficiaries, but are decision-makers in water governance… Women are at the forefront of managing water in households and communities, so how do we actively get women in these spaces and shape solutions?”

Water Research Commission CEO Dr Jennifer Molwantwa said that water-sector institutions in South Africa were still lacking in women’s representation, but that this was an issue across the board. 

“There have been strides that have been made 30 years into democracy. However, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” said Molwantwa.

She stressed that empowering women in research, policy and technical roles for tackling water insecurity was urgently needed to address pressing challenges such as climate change, water security and environmental degradation.

Molwantwa said the WRC, acting alone and with partners, was advancing sustainable water solutions through research, policy engagement and innovation.

“As part of our strategy, we are intending to be more active around women and youth in terms of our research agenda. We are funding researchers – emerging researchers, particularly women of colour – that have been disadvantaged over the past,” said Molwantwa.

Molwantwa said they were focused on breaking down barriers for women, ensuring their leadership in shaping water policies, infrastructure and community-driven solutions.

With women researchers leading, the National Dam Saltation (NatSilt) Management Programme was developed by the WRC and the DWS as a response to the growing issue of sediment accumulation inside reservoirs.

Gaegane explained this was initiated in 2020 to deal with the crisis of saltation threatening dams whereby excessive soil erosion, poor land management and extreme weather had led to increased sediment buildup, reducing storage capacity and threatening water security.

Through ecological and engineering approaches, the programme is working to restore water reserves and improve them for climate resilience. DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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