One of my (too many) ongoing stories takes on the issue of sinkhole formation, especially around Johannesburg. The two sinkholes pictured here are in the town of Carletonville, about 50 miles west of the city.

According to a 2011 report from the Council for Geoscience, 50 towns around the country -- including parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria -- sit fully or partially on dolomite, a rock that is predisposed to sinkhole formation. The three major methods of sinkhole formation are the lowering of the water table, water leaking from poorly managed infrastructure and surface water drainage.

That first method initially sparked my interest, as mining dewatered the Far West Rand, dropping the area's water level. The sinkholes in the above photo formed a little more than a year ago, likely caused by pipes dripping over a dewatered area.

South Africa is in the midst of one of its worst droughts in recorded history.

--The Vaal Dam, which supplies Johannesburg with water, sits below 30 percent full.
--The dams across the country that are monitored by the Department of Water and Sanitation sit at an average 51.4 percent full. At the same time last year, the average was 70.3 percent.
--The average cost of a food basket nationally rose 9.8 percent between March of last year and this year, largely due to water shortages.
--Johannesburg is experiencing both water restrictions as well as taxes on high water usage.
--Water use is also capped for agriculture and industry in parts of the country.

This aerially photo taken from a small Cessna captures one stream in Mpumalanga, the water no longer a continuous flow. Agriculture is far and away the main user of water in the country, while mining, energy production and urban populations are three other large consumers. Climate change is clearly a factor in increasing droughts, and wholesale changes to many aspects of life and business are likely needed for South Africa in the future.