Water, Sewage & Effluent September October 2018 | Page 6

Around the water cooler
Welcome to “Around the water cooler”, where we gather to share, gossip,
whinge, praise, and comment on all things water related; from politics and
infrastructure to water-saving innovations and interesting industry titbits.
The editor’s best letter gets to win a torch, so gather round and join in!
IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES
I find it strange that despite all the
warnings and ‘naysayers’ of the
past 20 years (and even before)
and the critical water shortages in
the Western Cape — that we have
seen and experienced ourselves
[in Gauteng] and yes, coming to a
town near you too — we collectively
choose to pretend that for the
next 100  000 times we open a tap,
that it will gush with an endless
supply of fresh, clean and healthy
water. I believe everyone needs to
ED'S
CHOICE
ZERO TOLERANCE
As a Capetonian, I need
to get this off my chest.
Did Helen Zille even
think that before she
threatened us in Cape Town with
the looming spectre of ‘Day Zero’
— should we not comply with the
request to reduce water usage — that
the ramifications it would have on
businesses would be dire?
We run an Airbnb that has enjoyed
mild success, even in a water-scarce
city. However, as soon as Zille’s dramatic
utterings were splashed across every
international newspaper — basically
going viral, warning against the day
that “taps would run dry in Cape Town”
— we had five months of pre-booked
international visitors cancelled, drying
up like early morning mist in a furnace,
so unappetising and foreboding was the
portrayed scenario.
4
REALLY reconsider their day-to-day
usage of this very scarce resource
— especially in South Africa
already being a ‘drier country in a
global context’.
This applies to the discharge
of water back into the system,
which inevitably lands back in
our river systems, untreated and
contaminated, and kills off our
ecosystems. It’s not enough for a
handful of people to be carrying this
load — we all need to participate in
Then Day Zero was postponed from one
month to the next and finally declared no
more, while we are left to pick ourselves
up, dust ourselves off, and try and get
back on to our feet, with or without water.
Your irresponsible sensationalism all but
cost us our business, Helen. May I suggest
you think before you act in future?
C Liger
Cape Town
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE
WON AN ETN POWER STYLE TORCH!
Water Sewage & Effluent September/October 2018
best practices, not just preach them
or think that because of our social
status it could never affect us.
Does anyone know how long it
would take to replenish our aquifers
— maybe this should be tabled as
this is seen to be our ‘next saviour’.
Something to think about. We need
more proactive actions and less wait
and see.
B Dover
Johannesburg
TALKING
TURKEY
After
communism
was
disbanded some 25 years
ago (same timespan since
South Africa was ‘liberated’),
the Turkish government
addressed basic needs like
water, sanitation, and so on.
Priorities is what it is all
about and this was done with
inexperienced
politicians
who identified the need to
sort out basic services first.
Unlike the ANC, which just
does not seem to ‘ge