Plumbing Africa February 2018 | Page 37

HEALTH AND SANITATION 35 << Continued from page 33 Yes, it is a mess and it is going to get worse before it gets better. The poor, the aged, the infirmed, and the young children are most at risk as 50ℓ per day is hardly much to survive on. If you are sick or cannot get to one of the water points, then what? Well, in this country’s climate, three to seven days is all your body needs to shut down and off without any water. Water and airborne diseases become a reality and the urbanised cities and its surrounds will smell worse than a dead rat. So? Is this drought man-made or a natural disaster? Andrew Camphausen Yes, this is a natural disaster, as it can be reasonably deduced that if no rainfall occurs for a prolonged period, the earth will start to dry up. But can it be attributed to a natural disaster only? Andy has been in the building/ plumbing industry for over 20 years. In the course of his six years in the Free State, he was nominated and served as vice-chair of IOPSA Free State. During his 12 years with the company, he served as a regional manager and now holds the position of national technical support manager at LIXIL Africa. Andy is very passionate about our country and believes it is our responsibility to ensure that the next generation of plumbers is adequately trained. He takes pride in working for a local manufacturer and believes that customer centricity is the key to success. Cape Town is a shining example of how humankind can mess things up. The ‘Day Zero’ buzzword is on every person’s lips, but what are we doing about it? We can blame the residents of poor communities as they leave their taps running day and night. We can blame everyone, but is it all a user problem? Should we not have spoken to the municipalities to put a preventative maintenance plan together? Should we not have asked where we can assist those who are running the provinces? There is most certainly going to be carnage at the water points, and people run the real risk of getting very, very sick. Numerous ‘rats and mice’ are appearing from all walks of life with inventions that are being imported now. Are some of these contraptions not an eventual health hazard that could add to the disaster that we already face? Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality has designed an app for this very reason. But is this not a little too late? Now there is an app for preventative maintenance and no water apparatus to maintain as there is no water. It is going to take some time before the desalination plants come online — what do people (users) do in the meantime? This subject is vast and can be debated till the cows come home, but these are some points to ponder as professionals in the plumbing fraternity. What are you doing to assist with the drought? Or are you going to wait to smell the coffee? Just remember that water is needed to fuel that coffee, so don’t wait too long. PA We need to bear in mind that the Eastern Cape up to Port Elizabeth is fast becoming a drought-stricken area, too. I recently heard that the town of Oudtshoorn is all but desolate. No one knows where the ostriches have gone. And what has happened to Beaufort West? Another person has stated that the hub of the South African economy will run out of water by 2025. Not long away? www.plumbingafrica.co.za February 2018 Volume 23 I Number 12