TIGHTENING THE TAPS ISN’T A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO THE WATER CRISIS

LETTER to Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and her office’s reply

AS A homeowner, I am being directly affected by the inability of the government to provide clean water and enough water!

I understand there are water restrictions as there has not been enough rain but there has also been short-sightedness and a complete lack of planning.

But I am not the problem; the problem is industry and mining which consumes enormous amounts of water and makes no effort to conserve it by recycling it. Instead they pollute it. They chop down all the greenery and then wonder why we have no rain. They are killing off the lungs of our planet.

There must be alternatives that are not difficult to implement. It just takes a bit of interest and planning, then those who pay taxes and for water will not need to be punished. There should also be initiatives that make collecting rain water and renewable energy much cheaper.

Restrictions are like putting a plaster on and hoping the problem will go away. Get to the root cause.

Tracey McKendry

Thank you, Tracey, your comments are noted and we would like to assure that the department and the various municipalities and stakeholders are working on solutions. Just two points:

In Gauteng, 79 percent of water supplied is utilised by domestic users, such as yourself;

In recent assessments, it was discovered that nearly 40 percent of our water is being used for gardening and other non-human consumption uses.

These points illustrate why it becomes critical for all to use water wisely. With industry, we are pursuing ways to diversify our water mix and to encourage recycling and increased use of ground water. Meanwhile, the adaptation to the circumstances by users is most critical. Mlimandlela Ndamase Spokesperson for the minister, Department of Water and Sanitation