Drought emergency plan to be rolled out
The KZN emergency drought mitigation plan comprises of short-, medium- and long-term interventions designed to mitigate the effects of the drought
MINISTER of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, and her counterpart, Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, have set clear directives to address the country’s drought challenges in a joint Ministers and Members of Executive Councils meeting in Johannesburg last week.
The KZN emergency drought mitigation plan comprises of short-, medium- and long-term interventions designed to mitigate the effects of the drought.
The short-term interventions are expected to be implemented over a period of three to six months, beginning next month.
Currently, 256 towns and surrounding communities in the Uthukela, Umzinyathi, Amajuba, Zululand, King Cetshwayo and Umgungundlovu districts are reported to be affected.
Approximately R97-million has been set aside for the short-term intervention in the province.
These interventions include implementing drought operating rules, groundwater resource development, water tanker services utilising available sources, rainwater harvesting and the protection and use of springs.
The new borehole programme has identified 1 118 new boreholes to be established, 3 000 water tanks have been made available to provide water to affected communities and there is ongoing assessment for the refurbishment of boreholes.
The minister has called on the public to enhance water conservation measures as the provincial dam storage capacity remains below average at 54.9%.
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