What is the Water RDI Roadmap?
The National Water RDI Roadmap is a sector wide plan that aims to support a water secure future through supporting three pillars of work: 1) water research, 2) high-end skills and 3) knowledge deployment.
The Roadmap focuses a range of stakeholders engaged in water related innovation activities as well as the funders of these activities. The intention is to prepare South Africa for future water related challenges and opportunities by ensuring that we are equipped with the knowledge to make sound decisions, the skills and capabilities to deploy solutions, and the technology and know-how to insert new solutions into the water sector.
The investment aspiration underpinning the plan over a 10-year period is 8.4 billion rand which necessitates the careful targeting and synergising of existing investments in water RDI space and demands a range of public and private sector partners to collaborate to address the remaining investment gaps.
Cluster 1: Unlocking Alternative Sources of Water
Blue Water; Fog Harvesting; Rainfall/cloud enhancement; Seawater Use; Rainwater Harvesting; Dams; rivers; aquifers; ground water; Green Water; Grey water, Storm water; Purple Water; Reclaimed waste water; Reclaimed industrial water, water mix
Cluster 2: Governance, Planning and Management of Supply and Demand
Supply: Disaster management; Climate change resilience; risk; vulnerability; Water governance; Water allocation reform; Water policy; Water planning and development; Water management; Water institutions; Catchment management agencies; Catchment modelling; Social acceptance; behaviour; IWRM; Political economy; Accountability; Uptake of research
Cluster 3: Built and Ecological Infrastructure
Water Infrastructure; Dams; Water Supply; Water Treatment; Closure and rehabilitation Sludge management sanitation; Ecosystems; Ecological Infrastructure; Alien Species; Biodiversity protection; Soil, Grassland, Forest, savanna, Woodland, Fynbos; Wetland; Rivers; Estuaries; Invasive alien plants; Erosion; Degradation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Protection; Biodiversity; Ecosystem Services
Cluster 4: Water as a Smart Business (including Pricing and Billing)
Tariffs; Equitable sharing; Pricing; ICT; Water Economics; Compliance and enforcement; Physical losses; Technical loses; Non-revenue Water; Water use charges; Revenue collection; Debt collection; Equitable shared; Concessions and Loans; Procurement; Service delivery models; PPPs; Asset management
Cluster 5: Efficiency
Non-revenue water; Water leaks; Water losses; Commercial water loss; Industrial water efficiency; Industrial Water benchmarking; Reducing water losses; Water use efficiency; water wastage; Agricultural water efficiency; Alternative sanitation; Waterless sanitation; Low flush sanitation; Drip irrigation; Alternative irrigation; Off-grid sanitation; New agricultural practices; Pollution control; Point source pollution management; Non-point source pollution management; Policy incentives; Hyperspectral imaging and other satellite observation technologies; Behaviour
Cluster 6: Monitoring and Metering
Water meters; Smart meters; River monitoring; Water monitoring; Water quality monitoring; pollution control; Water and big data; Hydrological monitoring; Citizen science for water; ICT and water; Smart water; diagnostics of conveyance; Smart networks; Big data
The full Water RDI Roadmap document is available here:
Be part of shaping South Africa’s future by engaging with the Water RDI Roadmap. Together, we can drive innovative solutions, strengthen partnerships, and create sustainable water systems for generations to come. Whether you’re in research, policy, business, or education, your contribution matters. Let’s collaborate for a water-secure South Africa and beyond!
