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Wednesday, 31 March 2010 14:07

National Water Week is a reminder to all South Africans that our most precious resource is under pressure and needs to be protected

South Africa is one of the world’s driest countries yet, ironically, its water quality is rated as among the best in the world. Therein lies the problem: good quality water, but simply not enough of it.

In December 2009, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs released a statistical report about recorded districts in the country affected by drought conditions.

The report revealed that between January and December 2009, a large number of districts suffered drought conditions due to a lack of rain.

In addition, the report revealed that while some areas were not in distress just yet, it seemed many more were heading toward becoming drought affected.

Because there is a lack of this finite source, it is of vital importance that stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations, national water boards, business and government collaborate to find solutions for a long-term strategic plan with the goal of ensuring water conservancy and even more importantly, water sanitation for the future generations.

To add pressure to an already serious problem, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup is almost here and it would be in the best interests of both South African citizens and visitors that there is sufficient clean and drinkable water for everyone, but without jeopardising the accessibility and availability of water for the people of South Africa long after the World Cup trophy has been awarded to the winning country.

One of the most basic human rights is the accessibility of water. Since the advent of 1994, the government has succeeded in making water more accessible to the people, but still faces many challenges.

The former Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism looked at various indicators between 1994 and 2008 to see whether there was substantial improvement in urban areas. It found that there was, but there were other challenges to overcome.

Prior to 1994, only 40% of the population had access to clean drinkable water. Post-1994, the number of people living in urban areas above the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) level, who had access to water, was estimated at 61.7%; and in 2007, this had increased to 87.2%. However, in 2006, there were over three million people living without water and a further 4.9 million people living below the RDP level, which indicates population growth.

In another report compiled by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, made public in early February 2010, one of the challenges the department faces for making water accessible to those in need is the huge financial gap in the bulk infrastructure programme to deliver clean water and to improve the safety of treating water. Coupled with population growth and increasing drought, the problem is quite substantial.

One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to provide clean, safe drinkable water to all South Africans which, if the challenges increase, will not be met. Agreements and partnerships appear to be a means to an end.

In November last year, an agreement for a joint R500-million water project between the Netherlands and South Africa was signed.

This heralded perhaps the beginning of building proper infrastructure in the most impoverished areas, which is one of the most fundamental problems with water accessibility.

The water project, called the Dutch Orio Grant, is set to be implemented at the Zululand District Municipality, which aims to help 165 000 people in the rural areas of the municipality gain access to clean and sanitation water through improving the infrastructure.

Water Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said African countries would not meet targets for water and sanitation set out in the MDGs if trends such as lack of sustainable financing to upscale infrastructure and service delivery continued.

These are of great concern and the government is doing what it can, but assistance from the public can make a difference.

Water awareness campaign

To this end, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs has appealed to all South Africans to be aware of how water is used in business as well as in the home.

The very appropriate theme for this year’s National Water Week in March was “Together We Can Save More Water”, and Minister Sonjica and other municipal leaders have appealed to all citizens to:

• Adopt a dirty river and volunteer time to cleaning it as much as possible;

• Report damaged or leaking water pipes to the municipality in the area;

• Rather fix leaking taps in the home as it is cheaper to get them repaired than to pay for the water wasted;

• Water gardens in a responsible manner, – do not keep the water running for unnecessary time and rather water the garden in the morning or night to prevent water evaporation;

• Avoid the use of outdoor garden water features;

• Grow plants that are not in need a large amount of water;

• Use buckets to wash cars rather than hosepipes, as this uses less water;

• Be aware of people taking water from rivers for commercial or private use;

• Report illegal dumping of toxins in rivers and dams;

• Bath rather than shower as it, too, uses less water;

• If using a shower, conventional shower heads deliver water at flow rates above 25 litres per minute. One can reduce the flow rate to 10 litres per minute, which is sufficient for satisfactory showering.

• Use a bucket in the shower to catch unused water, which can be used for other means;

• Use energy-saving appliances in the home (energy star certified);

• If there is another use for already used water, rather re-use than discard;

• Never assume that even with private borehole water, there is much water and that you may use more than is required; and

• Encourage responsible water usage in the company.

These pointers should become a way of life for all South Africans and should be promoted on a regular basis.

Who is saving water?

Currently, in Durban there is a pipe replacement programme that is set to be completed in July 2010.

The programme, led by the eThekweni Municipality, aims to save ratepayers R248 million a year on water loss on an annual basis.

The project consists of replacing 2 800km of old underground pipeline that has existed since the 1950s. Changing the pipeline system will reduce water loss by 10.6%, which translates to the R248m that taxpayers would save.

In addition, 4 000 local workers are benefitting from the replacement programme, with 1 200 being employed annually.

Local and small businesses are benefitting from the programme, as all materials and other requirements are being sourced from those who live in the area between Tongaat and Umkomaas.

Coca-Cola Africa Foundation currently is collaborating with Coca-Cola South Africa, Coca-Cola Fortune and the US Agency for International Development to help poor and disadvantaged schools in provinces such as Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and in the Western Cape to save water through tackling problems such as leaking plumbing, lessons in water practicality and environmental awareness campaigns.

The projects from this collaboration entail technical education about plumbing infrastructure and plumbing repairs and also educate the children about water conservation, water pollution and health issues.

These are a few examples of how the government and business are making contributions to saving our precious resource. More can and needs to be done. And for good reasons: water conservation can provide jobs, it can keep a nation healthy, and it can provide a better future for the next generation if we all act now.

Staff reporter

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