Power cuts are one thing, but water is life

Two weeks back SA reeled under a new spate of rolling blackouts, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Eskom announced that it had halted its load-shedding. Little did we know in Buffalo City Metro that another type of shedding was just around the corner. Authorities at the metro have now announced that they will implement “Stage 2 water restrictions” from November 1.

This is cause for concern. Many daily activities require water.

BCM says the impending restrictions are as a result of falling dam levels, all of which are said to be below 50%.

As part of the restrictions, residents will need written permission to empty or refill their swimming pools; commercial car washers can conduct their business only on condition they recycle the water; no sprinklers may be used and no water may be used to clean paved areas without exceptional circumstances.

The announcement comes amid the provincial government’s resolution to declare the whole of the Eastern Cape a drought disaster area.

The declaration will allow the government to reprioritise its budget towards drought mitigation.

The water restrictions make good sense. The water situation in the province is

If we don’t play our individual roles, we may wake up one day to find that there won’t be any water

indeed dire.

Behind the scenes some may be asking how BCM would enforce its promulgated restrictions

for instance how would they know if a car was washed only once a week or more times? but such questions would be ill-informed indeed.

Water is life and every drop counts. We do not need anyone to police us in husbanding this precious resource.

It must be a collective responsibility that water is not wasted. If we don’t play our individual roles, we may wake up one day to an announcement there won’t be any water for 24 hours. Or worse.

City fathers must explore other water sources too, including sinking boreholes in areas where residents depend on communal taps.

We also implore the provincial government to speed up its processes to gazette the Eastern Cape as a drought disaster area.

The earlier that is done the better to alleviate further suffering.