Africa: We Are Mapping and Monitoring Africa's Underground Water Supplies in Preparation for a Hotter Future - Scientists

As global temperatures rise, surface waters - including rivers, lakes and reservoirs - are becoming dangerously erratic. This is because in a hotter climate, there are rapid swings… Read more »

Zambia: Lake Kariba's Rising Waters Bring Hope to Communities in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Built in the 1950s to generate electricity, Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe has since supported activities such as tourism, fishing and conservation. All of these are affected… Read more »

South Africa: Water Tank Delivery in South Africa Has Stopped Pipes Getting Fixed and Opened the Door to Corruption - Research

Across many cities and towns in South Africa, turning on a tap no longer guarantees water. Instead, trucks - known as water tankers - arrive to deliver water to communities facing… Read more »

South Africa: Boreholes Are Booming in a Drying South Africa - How the Government Plans to Tighten Controls

In South Africa, a water-scarce country, groundwater is a vital supply for small towns and commercial farming. Read more »

Africa: Handpumps Bring Water to Rural African Communities, but Many Are Broken - Study Models How Best to Maintain Them

In rural sub-Saharan Africa, access to clean drinking water often depends on a simple technology: the handpump. Read more »

Lesotho: The Lesotho Highlands Water Project Is 40 Years Old and Going Strong - but History Weighs On Its Successes

Big projects bring big hopes and big dreams. They also bring big disappointment when they don't deliver on all the promises. Even when the projects work as they are supposed to. Read more »

South Africa: A Water Solution for Drought-Prone South Africa - We Designed Systems to Replenish Aquifers Simply and Cheaply in Five Towns

South Africa is the 30th driest country in the world. Over 400 towns, especially in the western and central parts of the country, rely on water from aquifers that they pump out of… Read more »

South Africa: Invasive Mesquite Plants Do More Than Deplete Water Reserves - New Research in South Africa Shows They Damage Soil Too

Mesquite (Neltuma juliflora), a woody plant native to parts of South America, was introduced into South Africa's drylands in the 1880s with good intentions. Read more »

South Africa: Water in the Dams, but South Africa's Taps Are Dry - Essential Reads On a History of Bad Management

It's become a common refrain in South Africa: there's no drought, dams and reservoirs are full, but the taps are dry. Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Floods Turned Deadly Because Limpopo Wasn't Prepared

Limpopo, in northern South Africa, home to 6.6 million people, several large mines and the Kruger National Park (one of Africa's largest game reserves), experienced unusually… Read more »

Africa: The World Is in Water Bankruptcy, UN Scientists Report - Here's What That Means

The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back… Read more »

South Africa: How to Make Sure Water Is Safe to Drink - Four Practical Tips

Water is a vital resource. Life on earth, as we know it, is impossible without access to safe drinking water. Concerns over declining quality and consistency of municipal drinking… Read more »

Africa: Toilets Can Make Africa's Roads Safer, According to This New Study

Travelling on Africa's roads comes with many challenges. The biggest is arriving at your destination safely. The continent is one of the hotspots of global road trauma. Its traffic… Read more »

Africa: How Control of Water Shapes Power and Security in Africa

Water is often taken for granted, if you're lucky enough to have it coming out of taps. Yet it lies at the heart of national security. Read more »

South Africa: Access to Water Has a Long Racial History in Durban - I Followed the Story in the City's Archives

The water infrastructure politics of eThekwini, the municipality that includes the city of Durban, have been splashed across the digital pages of South Africa's news outlets in… Read more »

South Africa: We Tested If a Specialised Magnetic Powder Could Remove Microplastics From Drinking Water - the Answer Is Yes

Microplastics are the crumbs of our plastic world, tiny pieces that come from bigger items breaking apart or from products like synthetic clothing and packaging. They're now… Read more »

Africa: Dams for Development? Unpacking Tensions in the World Bank's Hydropower Policies

Dams have been emblematic of the World Bank's approach to development for many decades. From the bank's early years in the 1960s and 1970s, large-scale infrastructure projects such… Read more »

Egypt: Trump's Dip Into the Nile Waters Dispute Didn't Settle the Conflict - in Fact, It May Have Caused More Ripples

President Donald Trump chided the United Nations on Sept. 23, 2025, for failing to resolve dangerous international conflicts around the world. "All they seem to do," he groused… Read more »

Africa: Is It Ok to Sit On Public Toilet Seats?

If you're a parent or have a chronic health condition that needs quick or frequent trips to the bathroom, you've probably mapped out the half-decent public toilets in your area. Read more »

South Africa: Woman-Headed Households in Rural South Africa Need Water, Sanitation and Energy to Fight Hunger - G20 Could Help

Rural homes headed by women in South Africa have many problems getting water, sanitation and energy. Electricity from the grid, flush toilets and piped water are't always… Read more »

Africa: AI Has a Hidden Water Cost - Here's How to Calculate Yours

Artificial intelligence systems are thirsty, consuming as much as 500 milliliters of water - a single-serving water bottle - for each short conversation a user has with the GPT-3… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Sewage Crisis - Official Reports Don't Include Millions of Litres of Leaking Wastewater

Wastewater is the water we flush down our toilets, send down the drain from our showers and sinks or discharge from factories. It's supposed to travel through intact pipes to be… Read more »

Africa: Is It Okay to Boil Water More Than Once, or Should You Empty the Kettle Every Time?

The kettle is a household staple practically everywhere - how else would we make our hot drinks? Read more »

Egypt: Egypt Needs More Drinkable Water - How Windy Coastal Resorts Could Help

Egypt is facing a growing water crisis due to its arid climate, limited water resources, and rapidly increasing population. The country of 114 million people depends heavily on the… Read more »

South Africa: Decades of South African Research Reveal Key Strategies to Reduce Water Contamination in Fruit and Veg

Water is essential at all stages of food production, from irrigation to food processing to washing fruit and vegetables before we eat them. Crops and livestock need it to grow, but… Read more »