The Mpumalanga Department of Water and Sanitation kickstarted the National Water Month activities by cleaning the Clau-Clau River. Learners of Zwelisha Primary School and some of the community members rolled up their sleeves to help with this initiative on Wednesday March 2.

The purpose of the cleaning campaign was to highlight the negative impact of pollution on water resources, and to encourage the community to adopt the river to ensure it stays clean and that the water is safe to drink.

The provincial department’s spokesperson, Themba Khoza, encouraged the community to protect it from becoming a dumping site. “As we were busy cleaning the section of the river and the surrounding areas, we have collected all kinds of waste, including disposable nappies. This negatively affects the quality of water in the watercourses.

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South Africa is a water scarce country, and we cannot afford to lose more valuable water through the pollution of our rivers, streams and other watercourses. We need to use the available water wisely and sparingly to ensure water security for our current and future generations. Let us also remember that water has no substitute,” he said. National Water Month affords the department and its water sector partners and stakeholders the platform to heighten awareness creation on the importance of water conservation, resource protection, the impact of climate change and mitigation and the effects of pollution on water resources.

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One of the community members, John Shabangu, thanked the department for reminding the community of the importance of keeping the environment, especially the water resources, clean and healthy. “It is a good thing that you are involving the kids in such a campaign so that they can understand the importance of environmental health. I collect plastic bottles and use the bottle caps to decorate my wire cars, and this shows we can always reuse and recycle products,” he said. ‘We need to use the available water wisely and sparingly to ensure water security for our current and future generations’ Team