Improving water use efficiency under worsening scarcity: Evidence from the Middle Olifants sub-basin in South Africa

With the political changes in South Africa in the early 1990s, the South African government introduced a reform process in the entire water sector with the goal of a more enhanced and equitable water management system. This paper analyzes existing water allocation situations and applies a nonlinear optimization model to investigate the optimal intra- and inter-regional allocations in the Middle Olifants sub-basin of South Africa. Results show higher benefit from inter-regional water allocation. Reducing water supply levels to conform to the sustainable water supply policy, it can be shown that although water supply is reduced by approximately 50%, total benefits from water are only reduced by 5% and 11% for inter- and intra-regional allocation regimes respectively. These results indicate that alternative water allocation mechanisms can serve as instruments to offset for the effects of water scarcity.