Municipalities
Face Monumental Task
We
at H2O International realize that under their current
difficult conditions and restrictions, South African
Water Affairs is doing there utmost to try to provide
healthy drinking water for the whole country.
However,
with ever deteriorating water quality, a national skills
shortage, old and inadequately maintained pipe systems
and an increasing demand for basic services (like power
and water delivery) this is becoming a monumental and
perhaps unachievable task and one can no longer be certain
that the water flowing from ones tap is 100% safe to
drink.
Recently,
several cases from all regions of the country have been
reported of children mortality occurring after drinking
polluted water. The Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry (DWAF) admits that 160 of the countrys 294
dams did not comply with modern safety standards.
It
has certainly been in the news. Most newspaper reports
confirm that municipalities have restricted resources
to manage our water affairs. The word from water affairs
is that they are managing. In the articles section of
this website, you can read both arguments. Below are
a few excerpts:
Jeff
Rudin, Researcher of the South African Municipal Workers
Union cit. in…
Business
Times, 3 February 2008, P.1, Now its a water...
-
Safety and rehabilitation programmes are underway
at 42 dams. There is no clarity on what is being planned
for the balance of 118 dams that are not safe or need
to be rehabilitated.
WattNow,
April 2008, p. 14-21, Water supplies threatened? Not so
says Water Affairs
The
department is battling to retain its skilled staff
and support under-rescued municipalities, which cannot
maintain a consistent, clean water supply to all citizens
in specific areas.
Cornelius
Ruiters, Deputy Director General DWAF cit. in …
Water Affairs
says no
The
government and the DWAF, which is spending R1.25-billion
on improving the dams and assisting local authorities
to cope with damaged infrastructure, denied the fact
that South Africa is facing a water crisis.
Lindiwe
Hendricks, Minister of DWAF cit. on www.News24.com
WattNow,
April 2008, p. 14-21, Water supplies threatened? Not so
says Water Affairs
Carte Blanche: River
Jeopardy
To
read more go to this
link or see the Carte Blanche broadcast on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-4lqY2FXDY
Do
you want to be 100% safe?
Purifying
your tap water is 100 times cheaper than buying bottled
water and is 100 % safe.
Due
to the high cost of bottled water, you are also not likely
to clean fruit and vegetables, prepare food and warm beverages,
and make ice using bottled purified water. Why forgo these
simple yet important benefits?
Bottled
water is not only expensive, but also puts a greater strain
on the environment by creating large volumes of plastic
waste.
Another
thing to consider is that municipalities have spent millions
of tax payers money creating the infrastructure to pipe
water directly to your home. It is therefore illogical
and uneconomical to then still buy bottled water to drink.
With
home water purifiers, you can get the best water in the
world, from your very own tap, as it was meant to be.
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