Wastewater tour an eye opener

The visit was aimed at educating the residents about the wastewater purification process.

The ward 74 councillor, Thulani Simelane, says the residents were taught about the importance of saving every drop of water.

“We want the residents to know that every drop of water is important because our dams that supply us with water are running dry.

“They should make sure that they close the taps at all times and report leaking pipes in their areas,” he says.

Simelane says the residents were also cautioned against sweeping dirt into stormwater drains.

“We often receive complaints from the community about blocked drains and when we investigate we find dirt being swept into the drains.

“This leads to the roads flooding because the stormwater drains are not able to absorb water,” he says.

He says the residents were also educated about the importance of paying municipal rates.

“There are residents who during community meetings express their dissatisfaction about the annual increase of municipal rates.

“Through the tour they were given an opportunity to ask questions and immediately get answers in detail as to why this is the case,” he says.

Resident George Motlhaping says he is happy he attended the tour because he now has a better understanding of the importance of saving water.

“We were taught we should not waste – especially after doing laundry we should pour it into the stormwater drains for it to be recycled.

“We were also taught the importance of watering plants at certain periods of the day, which is in the evening and in the morning,” he says.

George says he is going to share what he has learned with other people in his community.

“It is important for other residents to understand that water is a valuable resource which needs to be protected at all times,” he says.