Water-shedding threat not a mere scare tactic

Soon, we will face the wrath of a parched Mother Nature after numerous unheeded water restriction calls from our municipalities.

Water-shedding is looming, with our lakes drying up rapidly and rainfall consistently falling as we move towards another dry winter.

Since last year, the city and district municipalities as well as the Department of Water and Sanitation warned of the approaching drought crisis, which will inevitably bring problems that will make Eskom’s load-shedding pale in comparison.

High water stress brings with it issues candles, gas and braais can never resolve.

Famine, disease, hunger, wild fires and social conflict could be in store, not only for this region or even Africa as a whole, but globally, according to the United Nations.

The UN in March predicted the world could suffer a 40 percent shortfall in water in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the precious resource.

This is where disease will become a major concern. Currently, of the 750 million people lacking access to clean water worldwide, over 840 000 die each year from water-related illnesses.

Yet, it seems a number of Zululanders still think we are the exception to the ‘conserve our H2O’ rule as we visibly continue to water gardens, fill pools, leave taps running and some undoubtedly still take long, luxurious baths in the face of this massive threat.

There are also staggering water wastages from dripping taps, broken pipes, theft and illegal connections.

Previously reported by the Zululand Observer, uThungulu lost 46.8% of its revenue to leakages, of which 37.4% are real losses owing to inadequate piping.

Clearly, both consumers and government need a hair-raising wake-up call to start saving each and every drop before the long predicted water disaster becomes an actual reality.

Immediate action is necessary before we find ourselves high and dry.