As South Africa continues to grapple with growing water challenges, residents of Klipfontein View in Midrand are among the hardest hit with frequent water cuts. Recently taps in the area stood dry for three months – from August until October – the community survived on water from water trucks.
But the supply is notoriously unreliable. The water was restored in November, but at the start of December the taps ran dry again.
Community members say they have no choice but to store water in 20l plastic bottles and wheelie recycle bins. Mary Buthelezi, 31, a mother of two who lives with her three siblings says depending on water trucks is stressful.
“Sometimes the water from the trucks is not enough for everyone. Not having water is a health hazard for kids because they drink whatever they find,” she says.
Unreliable or nonexistent water supplies devastate communities, impacting their health and hygiene.
“It’s very stressful when we don’t have water because you can’t flush the toilet. At times you find menstrual blood inside the toilet and we stay with a teenage boy in the house. A toilet that is not flushed exposes us to infection,” she says.
Water restrictions introduced
Dimakatso Moloisane, a councillor in Klipfontein View, tells Health-e News the water issues were due to infrastructure problems with the Chloorkop reservoir in Ekurhuleni, exacerbated by ongoing challenges with Rand Water. To address the crisis, a pipeline metering project was initiated by the City of Johannesburg in partnership with Rand Water.
There have been water challenges across the country. In November, Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina announced that Johannesburg will have water restrictions that will see water supply throttled from 9 am to 4 pm daily from 14 November until the system has recovered fully. Johannesburg has been experiencing frequent interruptions to its daily water supply.
Majodina said in a statement the demand for water in Johannesburg has grown and continues to grow as a result of economic and population growth, and that the system is vulnerable to disturbances caused by electro-mechanical breakdowns.
South Africa’s water supply issues are longstanding. In 2018 Cape Town Cape Town’s “Day Zero” was a significant water crisis when the city came dangerously close to running out of municipal water due to prolonged drought and mismanagement.
In 2022 Nelson Mandela Bay Metro was placed under the Section 63 intervention to avert Day Zero after facing a high risk of running out of water due to the ongoing drought.
According to a report by the Department of Water and Sanitation South Africa relies on its rainwater, levels of which are unpredictable, unevenly distributed, and decreasing as a result of global warming.
But Majodina maintains that there is no threat to South Africa’s water security.
Drivers of water crisis
Professor Anja du Plessis, water management expert and Associate Professor at Unisa tells Health-e News that the country is currently facing various types of water crises and challenges.
“These have developed over the past two decades and are primarily driven by the dysfunctional nature of local municipalities, overall neglect and non-maintenance of water infrastructure, continued widespread pollution of already scarce water resources as well as increased climate variability,” she says.
Du Plessis says another challenge is the escalating water demand with inefficient water use. According to the Blue Drop report, 40% of clean water is lost to pipe leakages or broken infrastructure.
There are also challenges of poorly functioning or non-existent water meters, illegal connections, poor billing and revenue collection.
Du Plessis says the impact of unreliable or total lack of water supply as well as polluted water sources affects all communities especially the poor who do not have alternatives.
“Communities stand for hours to try and collect water from water tankers or have to travel varying distances to find water. In cases where communities lack any potable water supply, they depend on surrounding water sources such as rivers, dams and streams. This consequently increases the risk of getting sick.”
She says these communities have a major risk of water-related diseases especially diarrhoea and even cholera. In May last year cholera outbreak claimed the lives of 31 people in Hammanskraal, an area that is still struggling with clean water.
Addressing water issues
Du Plessis says the government and all stakeholders need to acknowledge the water crises the country is currently facing and will most probably face in the near future.
“We are unfortunately facing a tipping point and need to have coordinated, realistic, transparent and open discussions regarding the immense number of water challenges and problems in the different regions, starting with those who are already experiencing prolonged water crises,” she says.
She says without a clear understanding of all the issues driving water insecurity, it will be difficult to correctly identify priority areas for immediate intervention.
“While a joint responsibility exists, the existing trust deficit between those responsible, and water users needs to be addressed. Those responsible need to take responsibility and those who have water need to use it more efficiently and sparingly to ultimately try and ensure that everyone has water,” she says. – Health-e News
Source:
health-e.org.za
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