11613 research outputs found
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Mangaung Granary: an economic catalyst for broadening agricultural participation in the Mangaung Metro
No full textThis dissertation seeks to be a contemporary and architectural intervention reinterpreting the granary. Breaking away from the brutalist engineered giants of the 20th century distributed across the lands, this project aims towards a refined architectural engagement. In search of making an architectural ensemble of industrial delight, it strives to exalt the cathedral of the Free States rolling fields, the silo. By reacting to the economies of scale, this architectural intervention acts as an economic catalyst enabling broader participation in the agricultural industry. In respect to the Mangaung Metro Municipality the project will affect emerging small scale farmers
The psychosocial experiences of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis
No full textThe aim of this study was to explore and describe the psychosocial experiences of South African adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Consequently, rich, thick descriptions of their experiences and understandings of living with JIA were sought from seven individuals with JIA and their parents and situated within developmental psychopathology and resilience theory.
JIA is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases in childhood and adolescence. Notably, it is a debilitating auto-immune disease which has an adverse effect on the biopsychosocial functioning of children and adolescents as it causes high levels of chronic pain and fatigue. Despite an estimated prevalence of 18,700 cases in South Africa, only medical research has been conducted in the field of JIA in this country. Moreover, international psychology studies are mainly pathogenic in stance with only a few studies exploring resilience processes and well-being. In addition, most studies do not differentiate between child and adolescent participants. Hence, there is a need for both international and specifically South African qualitative psychological research that explores both the risk and the resilience processes that impact on adolescents with JIA. More specifically, an exploration of adolescents’ understandings of their adaptive processes and the possibility of experiencing well-being in illness is needed.
A multiple case study approach was chosen for this research. The participants were selected from the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces by using purposive and snowball sampling. Each case study consisted of an adolescent participant with JIA whose age ranged between 15 and 18 years of age and a parent participant. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the adolescent participants, while the parent participants were interviewed once. Thereafter, the data was analysed in a twofold, iterative process that made use of multilevel and thematic analyses. The final stages of analysis were guided by a developmental psychopathology framework and resilience theory. Three main themes were identified – namely, multisystem risk processes, multisystem resilience processes, and adapting positively to living with JIA. In this regard, the findings indicated that the symptoms generated by the disease resulted in a cascade of transactions within and between the biopsychosocial systems, resulting in cumulative risk processes. However, over time, resilience processes developed in the biopsychosocial systems, which seemed to enable the adolescent participants’ positive adaptation to JIA. This study has provided an initial foundation for further research in South Africa and has attempted to present the complexity of the multisystemic transactions that are involved in living with JIA. It has made valuable contributions to psychological research in the fields of JIA, developmental psychopathology, adolescent development, and adolescent resilience and well-being
The threat of state-sovereignty and state-consent on international investment law, global development and mutual survival
No full textThis thesis adopts a three-stage test anchored on models constructed using existing literature to enable analytical investigation of the effect of state-sovereignty on international investment law (IIL), global development and mutual survival. The threat of state sovereignty on IIL forms the bedrock of the study. IIL is effective when it realises its purpose.1 The primary purpose of IIL, as informed by international investment treaties (IITs), is to attract investment.2 The other purposes of IIL are to stimulate development and encourage international cooperation.3 The first stage test investigated the effect of giving away state-sovereignty on IIL purpose of attracting international investment, inform of, foreign direct investment (FDI). At this stage, a regression model was developed and used to analyse data extracted from IITs of 25 nation-states. The results showed that on average state-sovereignty given away by a restrictive IIT provision takes two years to attract FDI amounting to about US$33million. The findings confirmed that giving away of state-sovereignty improves effectiveness of IIL in realising its principal purpose. The second stage test focused on investigating the effect of restricting state-sovereignty on human development. A regression model was developed and used to analyse data obtained from 168 countries. The results from the analysis revealed that giving away of state-sovereignty by 1% improved human development by 0.13%. The findings confirmed that giving away of statesovereignty improves human development. The third stage test involved development of an explanatory model using rational choice theory. A model developed at third stage utilises findings of first and second stages to explain the influence of giving away state-sovereignty on global development and mutual survival. The findings of the study confirmed that giving away of state-sovereignty warrants effectiveness of IIL, global development and mutual survival. Such findings insinuates that reluctance to give away statesovereignty threatens IIL, global development and mutual survival
Development and validation of an electron Monte Carlo model for an Elekta Synergy® linear accelerator
No full textBackground: The objective for this study was to develop a Monte Carlo (MC) EGSnrc based electron model for an Elekta Synergy® 160-leaf Agility™ linear accelerator (linac) and to validate it against measurements. The requirement was that the developed model should be able to reproduce central axis (CAX) percentage depth dose (PDD) curves, off-axis profiles (OAPs) and relative output factors (ROFs) within 2%/2mm of a subset of measured linac data.
Methods: EGSnrc/BEAMnrc component modules were used to model the linac according to vendor supplied specifications, where multi-leaf collimator and Jaw positions for each electron energy-applicator combination were obtained from log files. Since the initial electron beam properties (focal spot size and shape, energy spectrum) were unknown, the effects of these parameters on electron CAX PDDs and OAPs were investigated and by means of iterations the set of parameters producing the best match with measured water tank data were identified. Phase space files generated by these models were used as source input in EGSnrc/DOSXYZnrc where a unit-density water phantom was modelled, and dose distributions were calculated and extracted accordingly. Six electron nominal energies, 11 field sizes and two source-to-surface distances (SSDs) were evaluated. MATLAB® scripts were developed to process and analyze both simulated and measured data.
Results: BEAMnrc could successfully be used to model each component in the path of the initial electron beam. The electron focal spot shape was determined from measured inline and crossline profiles and was found to be circular since secondary scattering foil geometries exemplified radial symmetry. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the focal spot (assuming a Gaussian intensity distribution) was determined iteratively from simulations and a set value of 1.50 mm was chosen. A monoenergetic and two different poly-energetic energy spectrums (symmetrical Gaussian and asymmetrical experimental spectrum) were investigated for their effects on CAX PDDs and OAPs. The asymmetrical energy spectrum with a low-energy tail produced satisfactory results within component dimensional tolerances and solved the match in the build-up region for all electron energies. Simulated data complied to measured data with a 100 % pass rate using a 2%/2mm criterion.
Conclusions: The developed MC EGSnrc electron model was able to predict dose distributions within 2%/2mm of measured PDDs and OAPs, and ROFs within 3 %. The underlying success of the model is embedded in the experimental energy spectrum which provided a valuable free parameter which, by fine adjustment, improved the match in the build-up region of dose distributions. Furthermore, focal spot parameters could be determined by means of simulations and thereby circumvented the difficulty associated with the measurement of the focal spot.South African Medical Research Council (MRC
The development of a CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for Cryptococcus deneoformans
No full textThe pathogenic yeasts, Cryptococcus neoformans and C. deneoformans, are responsible for potentially fatal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals, most notably in patients who have AIDS. Only three drugs are commonly administered to treat cryptococcal infections and most are not readily available in developing countries most affected by the AIDS pandemic. Cheaper and more widely available drugs are therefore needed. Developing molecular methods to disable genes encoding virulence factors could help to elucidate the mechanism of action of potential drugs against these fungal pathogens. Previously, researchers mostly relied on biolistic transformation to deliver DNA into cells for homologous integration into the targeted site. Recent developments with CRISPR-Cas9-based systems for gene targeting made it possible to utilise another transformation technique, electroporation, to knock genes out. In this study, a one-step CRISPR- Cas9 system was developed to be delivered into cells with electroporation. This system consists out of two plasmids, carrying a nourseothricin and G418 resistance marker respectively, as well as a CAS9 gene. A third plasmid was used to construct guide DNA, which was then amplified and cloned into the two CRISPR-Cas9 plasmids carrying the CAS9 gene. The plasmids carrying the CRISPR-Cas9 components were maintained transiently for expression of the CRISPR-Cas9 genes before these constructs were degraded by the cells. Donor DNA was also constructed to remove parts of the biosynthetic genes ADE2 and HIS3 to obtain adenine and histidine auxotrophic mutants with visually discernible phenotypes. A second round of transformation can then introduce new donor DNA to repair these auxotrophic genes whilst disrupting virulence genes for virulence studies. Electroporation proved to be very inefficient in this study and gene targeting was unsuccessful. Using large amounts of plasmid and donor DNA yielded the best results, although no more than 8 colonies were seen on a few selective media agar plates. Inefficient transformation could be due to old and faulty electroporation equipment or ineffective delivery of the electrical current to cells. In the future, other transformation methods will be employed to deliver the plasmids constructed in this study into C. deneoformans cells. This system can then be used to remove virulence genes to study their role in infection, which could help to elucidate the mechanism of action behind potential drugs. For instance, a capsule-less mutant could reveal what effect a drug targeting capsule synthesis will have on the ability of these yeasts to cause disease.National Research Foundation (NRF
Luminescence studies and stability of bismuth doped lanthanum oxide and oxysulphide
No full textDifferent concentrations of bismuth doped lanthanum oxide (La2-xO3:Bix) phosphor powder (x = 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, 0.004, 0.006, 0.008 and 0.01) were synthesised by means of the sol-gel combustion method at 250 °C using citric acid as the fuel. The product was annealed at different temperatures and the luminescence properties were investigated. The maximum photoluminescence (PL) emission was obtained for the sample which was doped with x = 0.002 and annealed at 1200 °C in air. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all samples crystallized in the La2O3 hexagonal phase. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data showed that the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature and the shape of the grains changed from rectangular to more round, but faceted, after annealing at 1200 °C in air. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the chemical composition, while diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used to study the absorption of the La2-xO3:Bix samples. All the samples were absorbing in the ultraviolet range between 220 to 320 nm. The band gap of the La2O3 pure host sample was obtained from the reflectance data as 5.1 eV. Excitation at a wavelength of 308 nm resulted in a single broad blue luminescence emission band centred at 462 nm. The excitation and emission bands were attributed to transitions between the 1S0 ground state and the 3P1 excited state of Bi3+ ions, with a Stokes shift of 1.35 eV. It was found that the samples no longer exhibited PL after storage of several weeks. Further XRD measurements revealed that the La2O3 had changed to La(OH)3. This is consistent with reports that La2O3 can absorb moisture from the air and transform to La(OH)3, which was observed to occur completely in about a week. Unlike for La2O3:Eu and La2O3:Ho phosphors for which the transformation reduced the luminescence, but did not quench it completely, the luminescence of the degraded La2O3:Bi was negligible so that simply the presence of luminescence can be used to indicate whether the transformation is not yet complete. This may be useful to use PL to monitor the transformation of La2O3 for other applications, e.g. ceramics and catalysis. If the transformed samples were re-annealed in air at 800 °C for 2 h, XRD results showed that the structure reverted completely to La2O3 and the blue PL emission was once again observed, however at only about one third of the intensity as for freshly prepared samples. For samples stored in a vacuum desiccator for one week, no change for XRD and PL were observed. Therefore La2O3:Bi phosphor may have application as a moisture sensor, because while the luminescence remains high it is evidence that it has not been exposed to the atmosphere. Degradation was effectively slowed, but not eliminated, by encapsulation of the phosphor in poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer. Therefore Bi3+ doped lanthanum oxysulphide (La2O2S) phosphor was synthesised to compare its stability and suitability as a blue emitting phosphor material. Synthesis was performed via the ethanol-assisted solution combustion method, followed by annealing for 2 h at 900 °C in a reducing atmosphere (5% H2 in Ar gas). XRD data confirmed that all samples crystallized in the La2O2S hexagonal lattice. SEM data showed that the particles aggregated and had irregular shapes. EDS confirmed the chemical composition, although the Bi dopant could not be identified since its expected peak position overlapped that of S. The samples, measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, were absorbing in the ultraviolet range between 220 to 350 nm. The band gap of the pure host La2O2S was found to be 4.90 eV. Excitation at a wavelength of 260 nm and 344 nm resulted in a single broad blue luminescence emission band centred at 456 nm, which was attributed to transitions between the 1S0 ground state and the 3P1 excited state of Bi3+ ions. La2O2S:Bi phosphor was found to have a similar emission colour as La2O3:Bi, although less pure and closer to the centre of the Commission International Eclairge (CIE) diagram. Although the emission intensity of La2O2S:Bi phosphor was initially less than the La2O2:Bi phosphor, it was found to be stable and therefore superior for applications where the phosphor will be exposed to the atmosphere. La2O2S:Bi phosphor also exhibited persistent luminescence, which was attributed to the Bi3+ ions acting as hole traps and host defects acting as electron traps. The cathodoluminescence (CL) of the La2-xO3:Bix=0.002 and La2-xO2S:Bix=0.002 phosphors was compared and they were assessed for possible application in field emission displays (FEDs). Since the phosphor is not exposed to the atmosphere such an application, bulk hydroxylation of the La2O3:Bi cannot occur. However, electron-stimulated surface chemical reactions caused by the electron beam are known to induce changes on the surface of phosphors that can lead to CL degradation. Simultaneous CL and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) measurements were performed during long term exposure of the samples to an electron beam to assess the CL degradation and chemical changes on the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were also made on the samples before and after CL degradation. It was found that after a small amount of initial CL degradation, associated with removal of contamination from the surface, the La2O3:Bi sample remained stable under the electron beam and it may be suitable for use in FEDs. However, the La2O2S:Bi showed continuous and severe CL degradation and is not suitable for CL applications. During degradation AES measurements showed that there was a decrease in the surface concentration of S, suggesting the formation of a non-luminescent La2O3 surface layer which was responsible for degradation. However, some S remained on the surface and XPS spectra showed that a sulphate, possibly La2O2SO4, was present on the surface, which may have contributed to the degradation.African Laser Centre (ALC
Application of SWAT model to evaluate the water balance of an arid catchment
No full textThe hydrologic processes and their behaviours in arid and semi-arid areas are poorly understood and differ highly from humid/sub-humid areas. Hydrologic models play critical roles in understanding such complex processes. However, the application of hydrologic models is limited due to the unavailability or scarcity of data for model calibration, uncertainty and validation procedures. Therefore, this study was aimed at evaluating the application of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT model) in simulating the components of water balance in an arid and semi-arid catchment. Moreover, the spatio-temporal variabilities of the different components of the water balance were quantified and analysed. The intensity of water stress was also evaluated in the catchment. All the components of the catchment water balance in this study were estimated using the SWAT model. The regionalization with physical similarity approach was adopted here for the calibration, uncertainty and validation processes due to the unavailability of streamflow data in the study catchment. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the top sixteen parameters were calibrated, from which the first three (the base flow alpha factor, curve number II and initial depth of water in the shallow aquifer) were found to be the most sensitive parameters, at p < 0.01. The result for model uncertainty also indicated acceptable values of both the R-factor (0.8) and P-factor (0.7), which is the average of the calibration and validation periods. Regarding the model performance evaluation, four statistical indicators were used, namely the Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient (NS), the coefficient of determination (R2), the percent bias (PBIAS), and the ratio of the root mean squared error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR). The results showed that all the model performance indicators were in fairly acceptable ranges; taking the average of calibration and validation periods, NS was 0.76; R2 was 0.78; and RSR was 0.49. The PBIAS indicated a slight over-estimation during calibration (by 11.8%) and under-estimation during validation periods (by 8.1%). The model performance was also verified by the comparison of the in situ measured and simulated soil water content outside the SWAT-CUP programmes, and showed an average R2 of 0.71 for the verification of four hydrologic response units (HRUs). The analyses of the model output indicated that all the components of the soil water balance exhibited a higher spatial and temporal variation in the study catchment. Hence, the long-term precipitation showed no trend on an annual time scale; however, it showed a decreasing trend (with 0.01 mm per month) on a monthly time scale. Similarly, the monthly total runoff showed a decrease of 0.002 mm per month. Evapotranspiration and revap water showed a decreasing trend in both monthly and annual time scales. Hence, evapotranspiration decreased by 0.01 and 1.25 mm, whereas revap decreased by 0.07 and 1.1 mm on monthly and annual time scales, respectively. The analyses also indicated that no significant trend was found with regard to soil water content, percolation and recharge components on both time scales. Generally, it was indicated that the variations of weather parameters were responsible for the spatio-temporal variabilities. However, topography, land use/land cover (LULC) and soil type played a role mainly for the spatial variations of water balance in the catchment. The study also showed that the catchment under study (Soutloop Catchment) is one of the driest catchments in South Africa, with an aridity index of 0.07–0.15 (classified as arid catchment). Due to this, the area is water stress almost throughout the year. The intensity of water stress was also evaluated using available hydro-meteorological and environmental indicators, such as the standardized precipitation index (SPI), soil water anomaly (SWA), evaporative stress index (ESI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The analyses of water stress generally revealed that the use of a satellite-based NDVI and model output-based SWA and ESI were important alternatives and/or additional indicators, other than the usual and widely applied SPI method. The study was successful in conceptualizing the major components of the hydrometeorological processes with a focus on the natural hydrological processes (excluding the anthropogenic impacts). However, it is understandable that the human-induced components like the LULC change and groundwater abstraction, which are related to the large-scale mining activity, could have a significant impact on the soil, water resources and the environment as a whole. Therefore, further research is recommended to investigate the impacts of human activity on the soil, water resources and environmental influences of the area.Kolomela Min
The impact of organisational support on small-scale farming: a case study of DAPP Namibia's farmers' clubs in the Kavango Region, Namibia
No full textDissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2019The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of organisational support on small- scale farming, with a specific focus on Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Namibia’s climate smart agriculture-led Farmers’ Club programme in the Kavango Region, Namibia. The study focused on programme impact on agricultural methods, knowledge and skills transfer, livelihood and agricultural output.
This case study used the qualitative research methods of interviews, focus group discussions and desktop research to collect the relevant data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with programme managers at DAPP Namibia at the partnership office, focus group discussions were conducted with randomly selected beneficiaries of the Farmers’ Clubs, and the desktop research assessed various reports from the Farmers’ Club programme.
The study findings pointed out numerous challenges faced by supported farmers, such as dependence on DAPP Namibia’s support. This challenge is further exacerbated by programme implementation loopholes, such as a lack of effective supervision and support. The study concluded that conservation agriculture methods are not only feasible in the Kavango Region, they are also widely accepted. Through DAPP Namibia’s conservation agriculture centred programme, farmers’ knowledge of climate smart agriculture methods has increased, a notable increase in production has been experienced, and horticultural interventions have improved access to vegetables for households.
In order for the programme to be sustainable, this study recommends that DAPP Namibia creates linkages with the government’s systems and that it considers managing the Farmers’ Club programme from its Kavango office, as this will enable more timely and effective supervision and support
An investigation into the state of governance in a public entity: through the application of world governance indicators: the case of ESKOM, South Africa
No full textSouth Africa’s monopolistic power utility, ESKOM, generates up to 95 percent of electricity utilised in the country. The provision of electricity by ESKOM is considered as an essential service that is critical for everyday and economic activities. However, the country has experienced load shedding (sporadic electricity supply) over the last decade (since 2006 – 2008), which has become more frequent in recent years (2015 – current). Load shedding, amongst other challenges, can be directly linked to poor service delivery which is often associated with poor corporate governance. Governance transgressions in government entities or state-owned entities (SOEs) such as ESKOM are mostly communicated to the public through media platforms; therefore, the role of the media is described in literature as being the so-called “watchdogs”. In addition, the media can also be used to facilitate various aspects of governance (e.g., openness and transparency), which can ultimately reduce corruption and enhance good governance in the public domain. Good governance in SOEs is guided by principles, codes, and legislative frameworks, and the effectiveness thereof can be evaluated or verified using tools such as governance indicators.
A globally applied tool is comprised in the World Governance Indicators (WGI) that are based on the following six domains: 1) voice and accountability, 2) political stability and absence of violence, 3) government effectiveness, 4) regulatory quality, 5) rule of law, and 6) control of corruption. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to determine the overall state of governance of ESKOM, measured against the WGI, and to subsequently evaluate what the specific governance transgressions are, as published by South African media platforms. In addition, a measurement instrument for organisational performance was also applied in measuring the following dimensions of sustainability: economy, society and environment. Both the WGI and organisational performance measuring instruments were applied simultaneously to assess and evaluate the overall state of governance in ESKOM.
Online news articles reporting on issues in ESKOM were extracted for analysis (assessing and evaluation) from The Sunday Times, Eye Witness News (EWN) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) over a period of 12 months (31 July 2017 – 31 July 2018), allowing for a maximum of 53 articles. The methodology followed mainly a qualitative approach, using the six WGI to cluster the content of articles as either negative or positive.
An organisational performance framework, based on sustainability dimensions (economy, society and environment) was also modified in collaboration with WGI as an appropriate measurement instrument. Governance performance is specifically the performance domain as it is anticipated to that good governance practices have a positive impact on the organizational decision-making and subsequently influencing other performance domains of the organization in a positive manner (Crucke and Decramer, 2016:6). The results (assessments and evaluations) indicated that governance effectiveness performed the best, while the poorest performance was recorded for control of corruption. Both these WGI outcomes were strongly supported by two dimensions of sustainability; namely: 1) economy and 2) society.
Based on the total percentage outcomes for all domains, ESKOM should prioritise the following indicators from as economic and society perspective: 1) control of corruption, 2) political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, and 3) regulatory quality. Other indicators associated with good governance practices or organisational performance which included the following: 1) rule of law, 2) voice and accountability, and 3) governance effectiveness. It has become evident from this study that ESKOM is making good progress regarding decision-making, planning, and implementation within the domain of governance effectives; however, the SOE’s ability to control corruption is highlighted as a major concern in this study. The state of governance, measured through online media reports, could be used as an effective approach to alert or inform regarding potential governance transgressions that may require further investigation
Urban groundwater development and management: basement water use
No full textSouth Africa is a water-scarce country and is among the 30 driest countries in the world. Urban areas have a high water demand due to population growth and increased urbanisation. Most of the urban areas of metropolitan municipalities use surface water, which is essentially fully allocated. There was an urgent need to investigate for alternative water sources to meet the rapid water demand in urban areas. It was, therefore, necessary to address the indirect use of groundwater and the lack of active management of groundwater because urban areas in South Africa have not currently been utilising groundwater to its full potential. The study identified high-level technical solutions, strategies, and tools as a decentralised approach that could address groundwater use and lack of management. This included water sensible designs, basement water use, the agency managing groundwater management and issuing licenses, and using numerical groundwater models in decision-making. The main aim of this study was to determine the current groundwater use and groundwater protection measures in urban areas and compare the status quo of groundwater use and management with the international best practices and adopt the best practices that are suitable for South Africa. Furthermore, the aim of the case study was to promote the beneficial use of basement water and encourage more buildings to use the basement water rather than to discharge it with no beneficial use. The overall results from the analysis of the status quo of metropolitan municipalities were that groundwater use and management were poorly integrated into the key statutory planning processes at metropolitan municipalities. No coherent plan for groundwater development and management was evident from metropolitan municipalities. Five case studies investigated the feasibility of the use of basement water for five buildings and the results revealed that each building has significant volumes of basement water ranging from 4.3 kl/d to 155 kl/d. The basement water is discharged into stormwater systems and none of the buildings are using the basement water beneficially. At the State Theatre building in the City of Tshwane, up to 75% of the water demand is used for the air conditioning system, and the feasibility of replacing this demand with basement water was investigated. The capital cost to implement the use of basement water for the cooling system was estimated to be around R1.5 million, which would be recovered over a three-year period. The results showed that the use of the basement water would be feasible and efficient for the South African Reserve Bank and Tshwane House. The investment would require R2.7 million and be recovered over a two-year period. Furthermore, Tshwane House would only require R500 000 to develop the basement water use system over a period of two years. A hydrocensus of the other buildings in the central business district of the City of Tshwane was conducted, leading to an estimated total basement water yield of 1.1 –2.3 Ml/d. The study recommended that the basement water use innovation should be implemented across the City of Tshwane (on a regional scale) to alleviate some of the city’s water demands in a sustainable manner and reduce reliance on limited surface water resources. The study further recommended that all metropolitan municipalities should amend their by-laws to discourage the discharge of basement water to ensure beneficial use