ISSUES FACING WATER-RESOURCE MANAGERS AND SCIENTISTS IN A RAPIDLY GROWING COASTAL CITY - CAPE-TOWN, SOUTH-AFRICA

Rapid urban growth in metropolitan Cape Town is subjecting the inland and coastal waters in the region to stress. Increasing extractive demands are being made on inland water systems to provide potable water. Larger volumes of liquid and solid waste, and increased stormwater runoff are influencing negatively the nutrient and microbiological quality of inland and coastal water systems. Urban sprawl and informal housing are detracting from the aesthetics of river catchments, and are also detrimental to river and stormwater quality. These stresses have particularly serious implications for Cape Town because the future economic growth of the area is dependent on a high-quality environment. Constraints to the sustainable management of water resources are discussed under the broad themes of institutions, law and regulation, finance and economics, and lark of information, public awareness, holism, and realism. These can only be adequately addressed if there is a fundamental change in approach from scientists and water resource managers. Strategies to facilitate this change of approach should be embodied in a policy on development and the environment, and implemented using an environmental management system. An appreciation of the key environmental and developmental issues and the severe constraints to sustainable development in rapidly growing cities will enable scientists and water resource managers to incorporate their expertise into the planning and development process at a metropolitan and regional scale.