SA Affordable Housing March - April 2020 // ISSUE: 81 | Page 9

NEWS
It is a date that has been fixed on the calendars of the
world plumbing community since its establishment by
the World Plumbing Council in 2010 and is now a fixture
on the calendars of political and social institutions
around the globe.
The international plumbing community, as
represented by the Council, has a vital role in promoting
the link between good quality plumbing, health,
environmental sustainability and, increasingly, economic
prosperity.
March 11 is marked by celebrations, competitions,
seminars, and activities all around the world. People
from within and outside the plumbing fraternity come
together to learn, share knowledge, build connections
and find opportunities to collaborate to improve the
quality of, and access to, fresh water and safe sanitation.
There are now hundreds of annual World Plumbing
Day events, promoting the link between good plumbing
sanitation and human and environmental health.
Brendan Reynolds, executive director of IOPSA says
that this is a day when plumbers throughout the country
traditionally host individual initiatives within their
communities. “At the very least they will typically go
clean up a park, river or beach, depending on their
location.”
www.saaffordablehousing.co.za
DIEPSLOOT AND WORLD PLUMBING DAY 2020
Jennifer van den Bussche, Director, Sticky Situations,
A delighted resident who no longer has to wait so long to do her
‘business’.
explains the current state of a key World Plumbing Day
initiative: “For ten years a community-based
organisation - WASSUP (Water Amenities,
Sanitation Services Upgrading
Programme) has been repairing
communal toilets, taps and drains
in Extension 1 of Diepsloot.
1 billion litres of water loss per
“This part of Diepsloot has
year) – but thanks to their hard
642 flushing toilet units (each
work the water loss is far lower.
has one tap and one drain), 25
The unquantified data is of
000 registered shacks (a
course the reduced leaking
conservative figure
sewage and increased dignity
considering it does not
for families who have to share
include the shacks in between)
the communal facilities,” says
– that’s 39 households per
Van den Bussche.
toilet unit – or according to
“Funding is always a challenge,
ex
y
ec
census figures around 128 people
so
the
team launched an ‘Adopt-a-
ut
o b
iv e
ot
per toilet.
h
Toilet’ programme in late 2019, where
P
d ire
c to r of I O P S A.
“No wonder the toilets regularly
people can adopt one toilet for one year
break as these public toilets are rarely
for USD100. So far, they have raised enough
maintained. WASSUP’s work has proven that each
to keep 35 toilets in working condition until November
toilet loses around 4 000ℓ/day of water per toilet (that’s
2020.”
MARCH - APRIL 2020
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March 11 is
World Plumbing Day