REFILWE GAESWE
"It is vital to save every drop of water," so believes spokesperson of the Free State department of water and sanitation, Larry Crisp.
According to him communities end up asking themselves how it is possible to not receive water when they have taps. He says the answer is very simple: it is due to drought.
Crisp explains that South Africa had long been recognised as a country subjected to recurring droughts of varying spatial and temporal dimensions. He further explains that drought is a major feature of climate and often has a devastating impact.
"While it is easy to blame councillors, the mayor, government employees or even the minister of water and sanitation, it is not so easy to pin the blame on drought. How do you blame something that you cannot see or touch? Due to global warming rainfall decreases every year and this leads to many dams and streams drying up. No supply of raw water translates to no supply of clean drinkable water and it does not stop there," he says.
Crisp added that drought is also a major cause of crops drying up. It has affected the already calamitous situation of grain shortage the country is facing.
"If ever there was doubt that water sources can become depleted and precious resources should be saved, the current conditions in KZN and Free State should cement the serious nature of this situation. We must all start saving water in any way that we can, especially by fixing small leaks in the household and reporting burst pipes when we encounter them," he says.
This comes after Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality made a decision earlier this month to start implementing water restrictions in order to save water. The municipality hasn’t made a decision on the exact date that it will start with water restrictions.
Crisp told Bloemfontein Courant that it is possible that the whole country might one day face drought. "I say this to create awareness among people that they shouldn’t waste water. We might wake up one day and not have water to use or to drink. It is a reality that dams are drying up and we should start saving every drop."
refilwe@centralmediagroup.co.za
