Water Prices at a Tipping Point

The following chart shows a comparison of water prices across a broad spectrum of countries. The price of water in South Africa continues to be low as compared to most major industrial countries. The price of water in South Africa is almost the third of the price in Germany. But when we realise that there are no more dams to be dammed and that there are almost no working estuaries left in South Africa we know water in South Africa is at a tipping point. This from a point of supply and quality. The variable here is price. We have all witnessed what has happened to South African electricity pices in the past couple of years. We think the price of Water is something that won’t stay stable for too long.

Think of the climate in South Africa – we have less water per capita than Namibia and Botswana. The variable in the equation, PRICE, is bound to increase for South African’s relative to world prices. And what if global warming cause world prices of water to rise?