Water, Sewage & Effluent July-August 2017 | Page 3

Image: Verseo Consulting & Solutions Kim Kemp | Editor Water Sewage & Effluent July/August 2017 1 daily usage, and woe betide anyone going over their allocation as a heavy fine was slapped on contraveners. I was even fined for having a hosepipe attached to the garden tap; although, through months of no use, spiders had woven webs around the tap and pipe head, and leaves had gathered in the hose’s coils. This severity has formed the foundation of my water usage to this day, where I seek out indigenous, hardy plants that require little water, never leave a tap running during ablutions, and basically take two-minute showers. As a ‘newbie’ to the water sector, I am swamped by the number of initiatives that are either due to be launched or are ongoing around the water shortage, recycling, and water wastage. The various authorities appear keen to address the issue and I see numerous events and meetings, conferences or leadership forums (often by the same authority, on the same day) discussing the situation and mooting solutions. However, I have come away reeling from a number of these events, wondering if half of the initiatives will see the light of day or if the efforts are being diluted through ‘trying to be everything to everyone’, as one player queried. Is the funding going into forming research teams and labour to discuss the problem, rather than focusing on a handful of urgent projects? We have water boards that operate dams, bulk water supply infrastructure, some retail infrastructure, and some wastewater systems, while some also provide technical aid to municipalities. The operation of dams means that they also play a role in water resources management. These boards (of which there are 15 in South Africa) report to the Department of Water Affairs. Combined, they indirectly serve more than 54.96 million people in 278 municipalities, comprising eight metropolitan, 44 district, and 226 local municipalities. Surely somewhere they have the teeth to enforce restrictions over this multitude and reinforce rather than dilute their efforts? Or am I swimming against the tide? technology I t is obvious that the country is wilting under one of the severest droughts in recent times. That, coupled with the ongoing reminder in the media around Cape Town’s plight, affords us little escape from the dire situation we face as a nation. We have no excuse for being in the dark (despite Eskom’s efforts …). As water restrictions are implemented within the Western Cape, the rest of the country could take a page from its situation and curb the relentless, selfish, excessive use of water. Just this morning I witnessed this priceless commodity running in a minor river down the street, while cars splashed blithely through the flow and pedestrians sidestepped the inconvenience. After a cursory inspection of the area, I realised the water was leaking up through a crack in the road. A serious leak was resulting in the waste of thousands of litres of precious water. Leak detection is the very simplest form of water loss management (WLM) and one must question the proactivity of the Johannesburg Water utility, as its phone rang off the hook, unanswered. It was with frustration that I continued my way to work, impotent against the results of inefficiency and neglect. Our water system is sagging under a combination of ageing infrastructure, poor maintenance, and the influx of people into the cities. While there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the budget setting 20% of spend aside for water infrastructure (up from 2016, according to CESA’s latest Bi-annual Economic Capacity Survey), it’s the people who are washing cars, watering gardens, and filling baths that should be curtailing their unnecessary wastage. There should be strict monitoring of water usage and heavy fines imposed on violators, with no exception, no leeway, and the harshest enforcement, to my mind. I recall the horrendous drought that gripped the country in the 1980s where, with a babe in arms, our family of four was allowed a ‘massive’ 400ℓ per day of water — the additional allowance purely because of the baby, up from (if I recall correctly) 300ℓ per household. Everyone had to monitor Are efforts being diluted?