Day Zero. A phrase that trended in SA in 2018 as Cape Town experienced a severe water shortage resulting in measures restricting households to 50 litres of water per person a day.
As Day Zero approached, the water situation improved thanks to good winter rains and the Mother City’s Day Zero was postponed indefinitely. But for some communities across the Eastern Cape, Day Zero has already come – without the fanfare that accompanied the Cape catastrophe.
While drought has undoubtedly played a role, ailing water infrastructure has also contributed to the water woes.
This week, we reported on the situation in Adelaide where some residents have not had water for six months.
There, a combination of drought and insufficient capacity in the supply line from the Fish River is to blame.
Angora goat farmer Ben van der Westhuizen has farmed in the area for 33 years.
“It has never been like this where there is no grazing and no water. Even if good rains came tomorrow, it will take us many years to recover.”
In Komani, where a valve at the main supply dam, Waterdown, was damaged when an official tried to open it, apocalyptic-type fights have broken out at tankers providing emergency water supply to residents in Ezibeleni township.
Earlier this year, the Makana municipality was given a R300m lifeline from the department of water and sanitation.
In each of these towns, aid group Gift of the Givers has stepped in, sinking boreholes and trucking in bottled water.
Their contribution and assistance is greatly appreciated, but the government needs to step up.
No, the government cannot be held accountable for the absence of rain, but it can ensure that whatever water there is available gets to those who need it.
Access to clean water is a human right, and that it has come to people fighting for something so basic is not only an insult to SA’s constitution, but also an indictment on the government charged with ensuring access to water.
Livestock have already lost their lives – and farmers are feeling the pinch.
Do we have to lose human lives too before the powersthat-be act with urgency?