South Africa is currently exploiting its water resources, placing it on the edge of water scarcity. ‘More than 60% of the rivers are currently being overexploited and only one third of the country’s main rivers are in good condition’ (WWFSA 2016:11). The country’s water infrastructure is in disrepair and the dam levels are dangerously low, climate change has also affected the country’s water supply within the different regions (WWFSA 2016: 3). Poor infrastructure like dripping taps and leaking pipes play a huge role in water scarcity (Mnisi, [sa]).
The image below is taken by a drainpipe, with water from the washing machine pouring down straight into the drain. This is a problem because water is a renewable resource which makes it reusable. Especially because ‘South Africa loses more than 25 percent of its clean water annually due to poor infrastructure’ (WWFSA 2016: 2). 
According to researchers, water leaks waste more than 30 million litres of water every day (Donnefeld & Hedden, 2018: 21). People migrating from rural areas and into the cities have caused pressure to the water system and the demand of water continues to increase. Lack of water education plays a huge role in water wastage. It has caused people to be less considerate and conscious of their use of water (The Water Project [sa]). To most, water scarcity is a foreign concept, the use of sprinklers at odd hours of the day is an example of aggressive water wastage leading to water scarcity.
Knowing that South Africa is considered a water scarce country because the abundance of water is low will make citizens more conscious of their water usage (Malgas, 2015). The ratio of human water consumption to available water supply has serious imbalance (Mnisi, [sa]). In South Africa we face physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity can be climate driven when there’s insufficient precipitation and high evaporation making the available stream run-off low (Mnisi,[sa]). Pollution driven water scarcity is a result of the water quality being so degraded that it unusable. Economic water scarcity is when there is a lack of investment in water or humans lacking to satisfy the demand for water even in water abundant areas (Mnisi, [sa]).