Durban — Community organisations have gathered to discuss the issue of water security and methods to address eThekwini’s water crisis. Following the meeting, the organisations proposed sending a combined letter to Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, asking him to convene an urgent meeting by next month.
The community-based meeting took place in Umdloti on Tuesday.
Community Action Network and KwaZulu-Natal project manager for WaterCAN Jonathan Erasmus shared the purpose of the meeting.
Since 2022, the WaterCAN project has aimed to address the water crisis in eThekwini.
Erasmus said, “The vision of this project is the securing of our water resources for the future in response to the challenges of climate change, corruption, government mismanagement, and inequality.
“The meeting heard from multiple community-based organisations facing the challenges of receiving no water and polluted water. The scope of the crisis is enormous, and if left only the state to act with no strong public participatory involvement, it is likely to worsen,” he said.
Erasmus said a key outcome from the meeting was the need to call an urgent meeting with the Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu as early as May.
“… From developing better area-based responses to inculcating better civic oversight of our key catchment areas and waste-water treatment works, we believe our water crisis needs everyone around the table to be in constant practical consultation,” he said.
Erasmus added that there is no better example of what such a crisis can do than eThekwini Metro… And that it is evident to everyone, and the City’s own statistics agree that our tourism numbers are dropping rapidly, as a result of the ongoing water issues.
“At Christmas and Easter, we had just over 60% occupancy rates. This is because people have lost confidence in the City. They are scared for their children to swim in our ocean, and worried they won’t have water at their accommodation. Furthermore, the City’s own river reports, now going back five years, indicate that the waste-water treatment works across the city have been in a state of collapse for a long time.
“The April, 2022 floods were not the cause but merely the final straw that broke the system,” Eramus said.
Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association vice-chairperson Allison Schoeman said the WaterCAN project will assist in tackling the water crisis based on previous experience.
“They have done some amazing work in terms of understanding our looming water crisis. We have a problem on our hands of epic proportions which the government refuses to acknowledge.
“Our sewerage problem will be a major contributing factor in the water crisis. And unlike the electricity crisis – which one can solve by harnessing alternative means to generate electricity – we won’t be able to use alternative sources to generate water.
“Currently, our demand greatly exceeds our supply-levels. It is therefore imperative that the government fixes the water and sewage pollution problems before it’s too late,” she said.
Other organisations present included Adopt-a-River, and the South Durban Environmental Alliance.
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