Long-term approach needed for water crises

IN response to the letter ‘Every drop is important – use it sparingly’ in the Thursday edition of the Zululand Observer, there is no doubt in one’s mind of how critically essential water is to all life.

This is particularly important in a country which is ranked as the 30th driest country in the world and has an annual rainfall of 450mm, compared with a world annual average of 860mm.

The ever looming water shortages in Zululand occur every year during similar periods (towards the end of winter), owing to the lack or absence of rain to recharge dams and reservoirs.

The issue needs to be addressed with an approach that will have long-term benefits within rural communities.

Water restrictions, water tankers and advising people to use water sparingly will not address the issue at hand as next year the same problem will present itself again, if not to a more dire extent.

People generally do not take note of an issue if it does not directly affect them. Advising people to not use water as a source of entertainment is equivalent to telling people to not use electricity for entertainment because of the always looming Eskom load shedding. It will fall on deaf ears.

Government needs to go back to basics and look at subsidising water harvesting technologies that utilise roof surfaces as catchment areas that collect rain and direct them to a storage container such as a tank.

This will empower our rural communities as they will have a source of water that they control, and will take the current stress off of our natural ground and surface water bodies.

ANDREW HALL