Play your part in saving water

SINCE President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Senzo Mchunu as the minister of water and sanitation in August 2021, there has been a shift and a productive way of doing things under his leadership. He got on the ground to solve problems in areas affected by water shortages.

He has been making sure that he gets first-hand information about the bottlenecks that cause water challenges in the country. Be it projects in progress, stalled and those that commenced, he wants to see wheels in motion and good results.

The municipalities in the country are rated among the highest of unaccounted potable water loss getting wasted through unattended pipe bursts and leakages. Apart from leakages, the municipalities are also major contributors to our water resource pollution as they fail to adhere to the Water and Sanitation Green Drop Certification by means of releasing raw waste water not treated according to the Green Drop Certification.

Under the Green Scorpions, the Department of Water and Sanitation is hot on the heels of those who fail to follow the directives.

Behavioural changes are also needed by community members, from fixing a leaking toilet cistern and leaking pipe, to watering gardens in the morning and the afternoon after sunset.

The mining and the agricultural sectors also have a role to play in the water and food chain. The agricultural sector must avoid river obstructions as that also incapacitates other water users along the river flow, be it farmers or domestic water users. Failure to abide by the National Water Act will see you face the highest might of the law, with hefty fines. The same sentiments go to mining communities that are polluting water resources in the name of profit-making.

Most parts of the country are experiencing a period of extremely dry and hot conditions coupled with flash floods. This puts pressure on the overstretched potable water availability.

One might think all is well with our water availability but the truth is we are a water-scarce country that has scars of climate change impact in our water systems.

MARCUS MONYAKENI Communications

specialist Department of Water and

Sanitation