It’s National Water Week

Between March 15 and 22, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and various stakeholders will observe National Water Week.

The key objective of the campaign is to highlight the importance of water and to actively engage stakeholders to find solutions to water challenges facing South Africa.

The campaign always coincides with World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22.

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Boniswa Hene, DWS Western Cape acting provincial head, said this year’s theme, “Valuing water”, is very relevant.

“Because of the devastating pandemic, we owe it to ourselves to value this precious resource in a responsible and accountable manner,” said Hene.

Ordinarily, the campaign is celebrated through face-to-face events which attract large crowds in communal areas, such as malls, taxi ranks and schools.

However, due to pandemic regulations, the activities will be scaled down this year.

Hene added that while celebrating National Water Week, DWS reminds Western Cape citizens that the Western Cape was faced with the worst drought in memory during 2017/18.

This was a sobering reminder that South Africa is a water-scarce country.

Thanks to collaborative efforts of water conservation and water demand management, coupled with water restrictions and good winter rainfalls, the drought was broken in late 2018.

“Climate change remains one of the greatest challenges and its impact is already being felt across the globe with its threats to many sensitive areas including the water ecosystems.

This means a heavy reliance on surface water should not remain the status quo. It is important to propel the country to a more inclusive water mix,” said Hene.

The DWS Western Cape will observe the National Water Week in a form of virtual webinars, handing over sanitary material to female learners at schools and educating communities about the importance of river health.

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The campaign will also feature a media campaign, with DWS conducting radio interviews and issuing other media statements aimed at educating all water users about the importance of water.

Meanwhile, the DWS is pleased with the rainfall that fell in Cape Town and surrounding areas in the last few days.

Water users are still urged to use water sparingly.