Something in the Water Episode 5: Water Storytelling in South Africa - Giving Water Value

In this riveting episode of "Something in the Water," host Elena Berg explores the multifaceted world of water in South Africa with water sommelier Candice Jansen. Candice is an expert in water storytelling. Candice explains how bringing fine water to restaurant spaces not only gives greater value to water, but serves as an entry point for greater water awareness on a host of water issues. As they navigate the historical and current water landscape in South Africa, the conversation explores the complex interplay of geography, politics, and social justice in shaping water access and reveals how digital platforms can be used to broadcast water education.

Episode Guest: Candice Jansen

Find more information about Candice Jansen here. 

Follow Candice Jansen on Instagram and TikTok.

More information about the episode and Something in the Water here.

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Sample water menus here

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted by Elena Berg

Written and produced by Elena Berg and Clark Marchese

Audio Editing by Clark Marchese

Cover art by Sarah Glavan

Theme Music by Josef Salvat

[00:00:19.420] - Elena Berg

Hello, everyone, it's Elena Berg, your host. Welcome back to Something in the Water, a podcast series where we learn all about the ways that water is not just water. First off today, to all the South Africans out there. Congratulations to the Springboks for their recent victory at the Rugby World Cup, making them the new record for the most World cup wins in the world. So why do I bring that up? Well, because today we're going to talk to another water expert, who happens to be from South Africa. In our super interesting episode for you today, we're continuing our arc of case studies around the world, talking to water sommeliers about water in context. Setting the stage for this one is going to take a minute, so strap yourself in. Water in South Africa has been kind of a hot button issue in the news in the last many years. Many of you may remember. In 2018, Cape Town, which is one of the country's largest cities, was meant to reach its day zero, which basically was the day when the municipal taps would be shut off. Luckily, they were able to avoid it through some restrictions on high usage, like swimming pools, and an awareness campaign to urge people to use less.

[00:01:50.660] - Elena Berg

Incidentally, the coverage of Day Zero, characterizing it as a success story, has been criticized by those who call for more systematic change to water inequities in the country. Collective panic essentially was enough to push back day zero for over five years now. But South Africa is still a country whose water needs are supplemented with bottled water, and access and inequality around water are still really real concerns. Now, unless you live in South Africa, taking shorter showers or turning off the tap when you're brushing your teeth won't increase water supply over there. But that doesn't mean that our actions aren't impacting the water situation around the world. We know that increased water stress is in part due to higher temperatures, lower precipitation, more severe droughts prompted by climate change. So if you're in the US listening to this, or the European Union, or the boardroom of ExxonMobil, this is more than a little bit on us. Furthermore, this is not freakonomics radio, but social and economic factors increase rural to urban migration, which places higher stress on water resources. But we probably need to talk to an economist to fully understand the nuances of this network of pressures.

[00:03:04.700] - Elena Berg

Beyond that, though, there are some factors within South Africa itself, both political and geographic, that contribute to the strain on water and inequality of access. So we'd need to talk to a historian on the show to give us the full breakdown. But what I can tell you is that the area that is today called South Africa was a settler colony, basically a place that was colonized by the Europeans, where a lot of Europeans came to sort of set up shop for their own lives beyond those who would stay just to uphold the colonial regimes. The United States, Canada, and Australia are other examples of this. In places like these, displacement land seizures and codified segregation were really, really intense, not just of the indigenous peoples, but more broadly, people who had darker skin. If we look to South Africa, like many civilizations around the world, urban centers are situated strategically near easier access to water. Incidentally, water reservoirs in South Africa happened to be relatively spread out, so the urban areas developed nearer to them. The geographic system of segregation under apartheid made sure to reserve land for white people near access to water so close to these reservoirs, and to relocate darker skinned populations to rural areas.

[00:04:23.120] - Elena Berg

Racial factors also inform decisions of investment in public infrastructures of water. As a result, in urban areas, the infrastructures are pretty well established, and the standard for tap water is typically quite good. In contrast, rural areas remain under greater water stress. Today in South Africa, some people are drinking water that comes from 400 km away, and not infrequently, people have to hike long distances to collect that water. When this is necessary, it's usually the women and the girls who do most of that water collection, which keeps them away from other educational and economic opportunities. So I think we can see from this just the deep impact that water access has on a whole host of other social, political, economic opportunities. So wherever we see it, water stress has direct effects on issues of health, education, gender equity, and economic prosperity. In all settler colonies, we can see how the legacy of these policies continues to surface. If you've made it through this brief history lesson, I want to say thank you. It's not a history podcast per se, but the context of water is really important. We have to understand history to understand human access to today's resources.

[00:05:43.490] - Elena Berg

It's also crucial to talk about these things before we get too distracted by how wonderful water is. I think it's essential to recognize the disconnect between the emergence of the whole fine water industry and the challenges of basic water access in many parts of the world. With climate change and increased strain on the world's resources, water shortages and all the problems that come with that will continue to be a huge issue. So it's my hope that water sommeliers like myself and the ones I talk to on this show can address this tension head on. We have to embrace the fact that water access is a basic human rights issue, but that does not mean that we shouldn't enjoy the world of mineral water, particularly if we are lucky enough to have access to have choices. In addition to exploring all these different flavors, our job is also to offer a comprehensive education about water, to add value to our understanding of water through information and storytelling. So finally, we've made it to my segue into introducing today's guest. Today we're talking to a water sommelier from South Africa named Candice Jansen. She's not a water farmer who bottles water straight from a source, but she's an expert in water storytelling.

[00:06:58.880] - Elena Berg

Her work is aimed at bringing people to better appreciate water, to understand its value, and to enjoy it. In our conversation, I got to talk to Candice about water in the restaurant space, public trust in water, widespread water concerns in South Africa, and using social media for water education. Let's get into it.

[00:07:32.200] - Candice Jansen

Lovely. Okay, I'm Candice. I'm known as Candice Jansen, depending on where you're from, in terms of.

[00:07:40.300] - Elena Berg

Welcome, welcome. Thank you for coming on today. I'm wondering if you can tell us how you got started working in the world of water.

[00:07:48.860] - Candice Jansen

Initially, I started out in the restaurant industry because it was trying to change the idea that people figured that water was all the same and could we introduce the element of taste into that? So that's where the work began. I've always been passionate about water, and I know that many people have passions about what they're invested in. For me, this is such a unique one, because so little people tell the story of water, and when they do tell the story, it's often a sad one. So I've had such a good adventure in the last three to four years in just changing people's perception. So whether that's a water menu creation that's sort of taken off globally around the world, really nice. And it introduces education into the fine dining space, which was also a never before, because now you can read about different waters and understand the difference between them.

[00:08:44.320] - Elena Berg

Okay, so a water menu is an increasingly popular thing that you'll see in restaurants, where they give you a list of the waters that they have with information, sometimes about where they come from or how they pair with food or what minerals are inside. And in fact, I'll post a link to a water menu that I really like in the show notes of this episode.

[00:09:04.660] - Elena Berg

So one thing I've noticed living in France is that, of course, the French are deeply invested in their epicurean lifestyles. Still, water isn't. Even though we have beautiful waters, most restaurants still have just a couple of options. Perrier, Badois is pretty common, which is good. I'm always very happy to see that - San Pellegrino. So we have sort of, and Evian, right? So you have the usual choices, and it's hard to convince a restaurant to invest in more interesting waters until they're convinced that their clientele will care. It's much cheaper for restaurants to sign a contract with these big suppliers if nobody cares anyway. So do you see a space there for change?

[00:09:53.460] - Candice Jansen

I think it's definitely through interaction with them. So often when I sit with a restaurant, generally they have two options, a local option, and then what they call the imported option, which we always know in here, in essay, is the San Pellegrino. So I'd always try to start them off from the beginning and say, let's not categorize them as local and international because you've already put them into a sustainability category as opposed to allowing people water choice. It's great to have the local waters because they're obviously cost effective and that's where they make the most margin. But then they will often say, we have San Pellegrino because the wine sommelier made this recommendation. And then I'll say, of course they did, because in my opinion, the wine sommelier isn't given water. They do a little bit of water training. I've heard it comes through there. They do a few comparisons between tap water and some of the bottles orders, but primarily they're out that gate with the San Pellegrino. So there's no option for them to recommend other products because they don't know anything about water. So it's always the same thing. So it becomes a default choice.

[00:11:02.740] - Candice Jansen

And I say to them, there's nothing wrong with San Pellegrino. It's a beautiful, natural product, but if you're going to stock it, you need to understand why you stock this product, and not just simply because it's the imported water and everybody thinks it's got a lifestyle value to it. You need to understand what you're doing with that. So we're now trying to get restaurants into a space where you do typically two to four products, two local, two imported. We do it on the same menu. We're not separating them by category of country. It's just about taste. TDs, source information.

[00:11:41.960] - Elena Berg

Right. So the total dissolved solids, the TDS, that's essentially what would be left over if you were to evaporate off all the water. A high TDS water has a high concentration of minerals and a low TDS water. Has a low concentration. Okay, great. So since it's kind of a newer concept, do you find restaurants are eager or reluctant or receptive to providing one?

[00:12:05.680] - Candice Jansen

They didn't know what the response would be from the public. They also didn't know what it would cost in terms of, because the product's got a higher economic price. So not everybody, we've had to juggle a lot of things to say, is it worth having this in this sort of environment? In terms of do you make money? Does it serve the public? Those are real things. But I admire people who go for water menus because they understand the differences. They understand that there is a demand for that and they'd rather offer that than have not considered it at all. Just to be a restaurant, this is, we're going to take the first brand that gives us ten umbrellas and we're signing that contract because that's what they do. And it's not an easy road for restaurateurs at all. No, and I think you brought up.

[00:12:52.660] - Elena Berg

Something that's really key, is that training is central, that you can't have a water menu without the ability to really talk about how those waters are different and why that's interesting and how that might change their experience with their food.

[00:13:07.540] - Elena Berg

But I think once they do have an understanding, consumers are attracted to the novelty of it all. I've seen some water menus that offer flights or tastings of water, so you can kind of dip your toes into exploring waters. So I guess guiding people through the process to start anything new really is an important step. But I want to take a bit of a segue here. You mentioned something earlier that really struck me. You said that when people tell the story of water, it's usually a sad one. And I think you're right. As wonderful as water is, I guess it's such an important feature in our lives that two things happen. One, it can get taken for granted, and two, it can evoke some really powerful discussions. So I want to take some time to talk about how water sommeliers  like us can get involved in some of these really powerful discussions. How do you engage with some of the issues that often get brought up when talking about water, like safety and access, for example?

[00:14:02.680] - Candice Jansen

So for me as well, I'm now on TikTok, which is a great platform to talk about things that are related to water. And so we'll get onto these chats, we'll have these conversations, and generally because of these networks that we now have in place, when there is an issue of concern for public safety, whether there's a cholera outbreak. Whether a particular product has been pulled because of certain testing results, whatever it is, we're able to communicate that through TikTok, therefore, into the direct homes of people who are concerned about these things. We had a very interesting case where a lab decided that they wanted to test twelve bottles of water off a shelf in a nearby town. Those, they came back and said three were fit for unfit for human consumption. The one didn't meet certain criteria, and they based their entire research off of the WHO standards. Right then we had a journalist who picked up the story and said, we're running with this. It's crazy. Bottled water is a scam. And it became a big concern for people. What now do we trust? And we're essentially here to build trust in water so we can have that positive experience again.

[00:15:18.290] - Candice Jansen

And so, again, we were able to utilize TikTok as an information platform to say the results or the testing that was done was done by a lab that wasn't, in fact, accredited to even test water. They were students who decided it would.

[00:15:33.240] - Candice Jansen

Be a good idea.

[00:15:34.010] - Candice Jansen

Let's go do that. And was somewhat equivalent to a grade three project assignment.

[00:15:39.460] - Elena Berg

It's a really great example of addressing an issue in real time. Social media is so useful that way. But trust is another thing that we find ourselves talking about a lot. Trust of the tap or trust of the bottle. I find it to be so fragile. But solid information, hopefully can be sort of an antidote to distrust. Trust does seem to be a sort of universal problem around water. But again, the problems with water are more local or regional in scope. And so the reasons for distrust might vary a lot depending on where you are.

[00:16:11.970] - Elena Berg

So one thing that I've certainly learned about water, also with my background in environmental science, is that water concerns, water issues are regional. So what are the particular challenges you feel like you're facing with communicating about water and also addressing issues about water?

[00:16:28.500] - Candice Jansen

In South Africa, our three greatest concerns are the quality of our tap water. Our municipality was given a mandate by the government within your different province to have a certain certification. They called it the blue Drop certification, which held that municipality responsible for the water quality and ensuring that that improves year on year, and that we have a good standard for drinking water. And we've seen such a decline in our water system over the years that I think the 23 reports were the worst to date, that many municipalities no longer have that certificate in place. And we've seen an increase in the number of municipalities that issue notices advising the public not to drink the water. Until it's been cleared and they know what the problem is. And then we've had a lot of environmental challenges. We've had massive flooding in some of our provinces that left those areas with no access to fresh water. And in those cases, for weeks and weeks afterwards, even when water has been restored, it's not safe to drink. Then we rely on the bottled water industry to provide relief to those areas. So people often see the bottled water industry as a negative industry, but in times of crisis, it's those individuals who, out of their own pockets, contribute tons and tons of product to other areas to supply those.

[00:17:52.880] - Candice Jansen

And so definitely our quality is questionable. We're at a place where I highly recommend that people filter water. And there are some areas in the country where you cannot just drink the water up a tap. So they then will go down to the water shop and they will buy filtered tap water, not realizing that the water comes from the same municipal supplier. So it's no different other than the fact that it's been filtered. So people shouldn't feel unsafe or unskilled enough to invest in a filtration that actually will serve them, as opposed to paying somebody else to filter your tap water for you. Yeah. So those are the biggest conversations. And then here in SA, we've always been able to drink our water. Always. Some people will say, I've been drinking water from the host pub for 50 years and nothing's happened to me. And that's all good and well, but we're no longer in that place. So it's so difficult to communicate to people that tap water is highly valuable, that chlorine in your tap water is a very good sign that the system works. And then our major issue is that we lose 40% of our reservoir supply to leaking pipes and bursts.

[00:18:58.810] - Candice Jansen

And out of that 40%, obviously, that can't be charged for by the municipality. So then you run at a loss in terms of water supply or financial income, so they struggle even further. How do you maintain this system?

[00:19:11.880] - Elena Berg

So, in essence, we need more people like you and I suppose like me, who are spreading knowledge about water so that people actually realize this is a problem that's an emergency that needs solving. Because I know that in the US, certainly the infrastructure is very old and it wasn't designed to last forever, right? There was this massive efforts to laying pipes and getting tap water to people's homes, but that requires maintenance. And so, of course, that also leads to issues of environmental justice, where communities with the fewest resources end up with the biggest problems with their water. I'm sure that's also a theme for you.

[00:19:56.860] - Elena Berg

So we can learn about the situation in South Africa, which is unique but not entirely dissimilar from a lot of places, even including the United States. And given how dire access to any kind of water can be at certain times, people might wonder if water sommeliers are a waste of energy or a waste of time. Focusing on the luxury of water, Candice addresses this in one of her many TikToks that you should go watch.

[00:20:21.100] - Candice Jansen

I love this comment because it says, imagine water being expensive. This is cool, but water. So I know that there are a lot of brands globally that are built on, again, perhaps selling diamonds on the bottle or their brand collaborations, and they sell at a higher price, or just brands that are experienced waters. But that does not mean that water is invaluable and shouldn't be done in certain ways. Right? So in this comment, again, without. It's not deliberate, I don't think when we say but water, our minds tell us that water is not valuable, that it's irrelevant, and that it's not cool. That's how minds are programmed to think. But this is why Candice is here. This is why this water talk exists. Because we're talking about water. We're making water fun, relative, educational, learning what we can, learning tastes, learning the different profiles of water, how to use water more effectively. What's the right water for the right purpose? There's so much to this conversation. It's not about expensive water, but also just to show you how the world works. Right? You know when they say beauty doesn't matter or it shouldn't matter, but in this world it does.

[00:21:26.660] - Candice Jansen

We can say it shouldn't, but it does. When I post content on TikTok that is informative and teaches you about water, do you know how many views they get? Probably about 100 times less the amount of views that a video will get when it comes to pricing and luxury goods. Some people comment say we shouldn't make water. Make it into the thing where it's fun and happy, and we talk about it and as if it's like a luxury. It's not a luxury. Water is not a luxury. But every single one of us in the room has no water education. So there are multi points, multiple points where we can enter a space where we can teach water and learn about water. That's relative to your life. You like to watch content that is focused on high end lifestyle instead of everyday use. Not me. I know that when I create that content, that content is going to fly off the TikTok versus content that's informative and educational because of how we are as a culture. So if you see an article that says, oh, does somebody drink tap water? You're villainizing tap water. You're giving water a bad name.

[00:22:31.870] - Candice Jansen

The rest of us here on TikTok are trying to do the opposite by giving water value.

[00:22:36.440] - Elena Berg

I really like what she said about points of entry, and as she mentioned, there are some water companies that sell diamonds in their bottles, but that's truly not most. All right. A good amount of the waters that you might see on a water menu would cost less or about the same as a Coke at the same place.

[00:22:55.440] - Elena Berg

A theme that I bring up a lot, which is overwhelming. The case is that most people who go into the business of bottling water are not doing it, because that's the best way to make money. There are many other products where you invest less and you could earn more, so you start to learn this is a passion for them, too, a lot of the time.

[00:23:17.470] - Candice Jansen

Right.

[00:23:17.660] - Elena Berg

Of course, there are big companies that do earn an enormous amount of money, but those generally aren't represented by the small sources that people are interested in kind of putting out there into the market.

[00:23:31.900] - Candice Jansen

Yeah. And those businesses. It's so true that you say that, that we're not making huge amounts of money off what we do, but once you're in that world, you're like, this is what I need to do for the rest of my existence. Nobody's sitting there and hiding money under their mattresses and saying, I own a water business.

[00:23:50.740] - Elena Berg

So I'm going to ask one last question, because I'm aware that it's been longer than I said it would be. And that's just where do you see yourself in five to ten years? Like, how do you see your particular focus growing?

[00:24:04.900] - Candice Jansen

We'd love to be in a space in the next five years where we can create greater networks of people to get things done faster. That's primarily my objective, is, how can I help you with your water concerns and issues, whatever they may be? How can I connect you to this individual? That there's partnerships and synergies, that we start seeing a global standard, and not necessarily country standards or even provincial standards or company standards. We have a company here who has a beautiful water source. They believe in their own standards and not a country standard and refuse to put an accreditation on the bottle. So to actually align those, so that people can't say we're using who we're using codex, but to actually come together and have a single standard that filters right down, I think would be a very good place to be.

[00:24:58.440] - Elena Berg

Excellent. I like it.

[00:24:59.710] - Elena Berg

I'm with you, so I hope I'll help however I can. Thank you so much, Candice, for talking to me. I'm so happy to have met you.

[00:25:29.170] - Elena Berg

Thank you for listening to this episode of something in the water. Don't forget to check the show notes for information and links about this episode's guest and the sample water menu I wanted to show you guys. Please join us back here, wherever you're listening to this in one week's time for our next episode, where we're going to continue on our case study journey, we'll travel this time to Australia to talk to my friend Joseph Salvat, who instantly wrote the music that you're listening to right now about the difficulties involved in setting up a small company on his mother's farm in the australian outback. I am your host, Elena Berg. This podcast was produced and written by myself and Clark Marchese. This episode's guest was Candice Jansen, and we've put some information about her in our show notes. This is a pine forest media production, and full transcripts can be found@pineforestpods.com. The music you're listening to was produced by Joseph Salvat, my friend and future guest on the show. Cover art was made by Sarah Glavin and the show was edited by Clark Marchese. Finally, thank you to the American University of Paris for making this podcast possible.

[00:26:36.550] - Elena Berg

If you feel called, writing a review and giving us a five star rating is the best thing you can do to help us out so we can make more science-y podcasts in the future. See you next week. Goodbye.