National Water Week highlights the importance of water

The country commemorated National Water Week last week (17-23 March) which is an initiative by the Department of Water Affairs to raise awareness regarding water.

The campaign seeks to reiterate the value of water in our lives and the need for its sustainable management.

In the age of Global Warming and climate change, water scarcity becomes a problem for countries like South Africa.

People are always encouraged to use water wisely and not waste.

Residents are also encouraged to immediately report water leaks to Johannesburg Water or relevant authorities.

The government has what is called Vision 2030.

This is basically a plan by government to provide every citizen of this country with safe and clean water by year 2030.

Here are a few interesting facts about water:

• The Vaal River provides water for 12 million people in this province.
• A toilet is the single biggest user of indoor water. On average, it uses 11 litres of water when flushed.
• A family of four will use 176 litres of water when each uses the toilet four times per day.
• The average washing machineuses about 100 litres of water per wash cycle.
• The average tap runs at 10 litres per minute.
• The average shower runs at 22 litres per minute.
• A garden hose can spray about 30 litres of water per minute.
• The average person, within a middle class home, uses 200 litres per day, to water the garden.
• South Africa has the distinction of being one of only twelve countries in the world where it is safe to drink tap water.
• In 2011/2012 the province lost R7.84 billion in water due to deteriorating infrastructure.

@MzwaJourno