South Africa is a dry and water scarce country. It is one of the 30 driest countries in the world and receives about half of the world average in terms of rainfall.
On top of it all, climate change is a reality and having a negative impact on water resources and water availability as a result of high evaporation due to very hot temperatures and unpredictable rain patterns.
All these put South Africa in a tight corner and calls for everyone to prioritise the conservative, wise and sparing use of the available water, prevent the pollution of water resources, and prevent unnecessary water losses as every drop counts.
Water is life and has no substitute which makes it important that we all become responsible citizens and water users to ensure sustainable water supply and water security for the current and future generations. The time to take action is now.
Water security is everyone’s responsibility and we all have to work together to ensure that we achieve this goal. The situation calls for all South Africans to hold hands and work together towards a common goal which is water security for the current and future generations.
Leaks have been identified as the major cause of water losses in South Africa. Leaks lead to the loss of precious water which we cannot afford as a water scarce country. It is therefore critical that we identify, fix and stop all leaks. Fixing and stopping leaks is the responsibility of all which includes individuals, governments / municipalities, water service providers and businesses.
Individuals have to identify leaks in their households and fix them to prevent the unnecessary loss of precious purified water. It is also the responsibility of individual citizens to report leaks in the bulk water pipelines to municipalities and water service providers. Municipalities and water service providers must quickly respond and fix all bulk pipeline leaks as leaks result in water wastage and serious water losses.
Water infrastructure maintenance is also important to prevent water wastage and unnecessary loss of precious water. Regular maintenance is key to a well-functioning system, therefore municipalities and water service providers must invest in infrastructure maintenance and have dedicated budgets for operations and maintenance of the water systems and infrastructure. This then calls on municipalities to have dedicated operation and maintenance teams and budgets to ensure that they play their role in preventing unnecessary loss of precious water and contribute towards long lasting water security.
Water security also calls for the protection of water resources, especially from pollution which is a threat to clean and healthy water resources. Polluted water resources negatively affect water quality resulting in unhealthy water which basically reduces the quantity of water fit for use. Pollution is a major threat to water security, so it is our responsibility to take care and protect our water resources. Let us protect and prevent our water resources being used as dumping sites.
Water security is in our hands. We all have a responsibility and role to play in ensuring reliable and sustainable water supply for all. Let us be responsible citizens and prioritize water conservation and the protection of water resources at all times. Let us always remember that water has no substitute and therefore create a culture of water conservation in everything we do. Water conservation and the protection of our water resources is everybody’s business and if we work together, we can prevent the unnecessary wastage and loss of precious water that is threatening the water security of our water scarce country.
