Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 14

NEWS in brief

Global Highlights

Water Wasters May Face Jail Time
By Sara Jerome

AfricaSan 4 update - new dates in May 2015
The 4th AfricaSan conference, scheduled to be held in Dakar,
Senegal from 8 - 10 October 2014 has been postponed.
AfricaSan, which is the foremost continental event on
sanitation and hygiene, is scheduled to take place in May
2015.
In a press statement issued by the Executive Secretary of
the Secretariat of the African Ministers Council on Water
(AMCOW), the decision to postpone the meeting is due to
the major health challenge of the Ebola crisis.

Image credit: “Sprinkler,” Chill Mimi

When California water regulators authorized $500 fines
for water wasting, the public marveled at how far the state
was willing to go to face down the drought.But one city is
going beyond that. In Shasta Lake, water wasters can now be
punished with jail time, according to a report.
Water use violations “are considered a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for a
period of up to 30 days, or a combination of both. The city
may also install a flow restrictor on the customer’s service or
shut off water service,” KRCR News reported.
Restrictions include that “use of landscape irrigation systems
is limited to three nights per week only between the hours
of 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM” and that “water from landscape
irrigation shall not run off to adjoining property or to a
roadside ditch or gutter,” among other rules, according to
the city.

AMCOW, in consultation with the Government of Senegal
considered the need to take proactive actions aimed at
reducing the chances of the continued spread of Ebola, and
the travel ban which certain countries have placed on some
of the worst affected West African countries.
AMCOW Executive Secretary, Bai Mass Tall announced,
“we took this decision out of a sense of responsibility that
we do not inadvertently create an environment that has
potentials to continue the Ebola spread. We also want to
ensure that no country is left out from participating in this
important conference which we need to convene to discuss
how to make sanitation for all a reality in Africa as we march
beyond 2015.”
WSSCC is a supporting partner and co-convener of
AfricaSan along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
the European Commission and other development partners.
AfDB and Didier Drogba Foundation team up to
tackle Ebola crisis

The city is trying to offer some assistance with conservation.
“The city has indoor and outdoor water conservation kits
available to all city customers. The indoor kit includes a
low-flow shower head, faucet aerators, pipe tape, a toilet
tank bank and leak detection dye tablets. The outdoor kits
include a 7-spray hose nozzle, hose timer, moisture meter,
ran and sprinkler gauge and garden hose repair kit,” the
news report said.
The crackdown on water wasters is a statewide affair. A
measure approved by the State Water Resources Control
Board in July imposed “new restrictions on outdoor water
use starting Aug. 1 that could result in fines of up to $500
per violation,” the San Jose Mercury News reported.
For more on policy and politics, check out Water Online’s
Regulations & Legislation Solution Center.
Source: Water Online

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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2014

African Development Bank Group President Donald
Kaberuka met with Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer and
humanitarian, at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan on
Friday, November 14 to discuss ways to tackle the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa.
In their private meeting, Kaberuka and Drogba discussed
a partnership between the AfDB and the Didier Drogba
Foundation in an effort to respond to Ebola, a health
crisis that according to the World Health Organization
has infected more than 14,098 people since March 2014,
resulting in 5,160 deaths.