South Africa is a water-scarce country, with most of its available water already allocated, and facing growing pressure from climate change, population growth and increasing demand for ecological and economic resilience.

SAEON’s uLwazi Node is proud to play a key role in the development of an Operational Water Resources Accounting System for South Africa, contributing to the country’s broader natural capital accounting efforts.

The project is funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and led by the Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The project brings together several institutions, including the South African Weather Service (SAWS) and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

On 19 November, the project team held its initial meeting at the CWRR on UKZN’s Agriculture Campus. The project comprises several components, including surface water modelling using ACRU, groundwater modelling using MODFLOW, water quality assessment, and the development of an integrated portal and dashboard. The outputs quantify water stocks, flows and use, and form part of the international SEEA-aligned Natural Capital Accounting framework.

SAEON’s role focuses on data management, visualisation and accessibility. The uLwazi Node will co-develop an online spatial interface that allows users to explore water resource accounts at multiple scales – from national to sub-Quaternary resolution. This involves designing tools that translate complex water accounts into intuitive, interactive visuals and ensuring the system can ingest, process, structure and harmonise vast and diverse datasets.

The Operational Water Resources Accounting System for South Africa will build on previous national water-accounting initiatives, enhancing the country’s capacity to monitor and manage its water resources.

SAEON is proud to contribute to this initiative and looks forward to its successful implementation.