The Department of Water and Sanitation will join the rest of the world in the commemoration of World Water Day (WWD) under the 2021 theme, ‘valuing water’.

To further heighten the awareness of this important day, the department together with its sector partners will embark on a week-long commemorative educational activities dubbed National Water Week from March 15 to 22.

World Water Day is a United Nations initiative with an aim to bring focus on the importance of fresh water and to raise awareness of the billions of people living without access to clean and safe water. This day is about taking action to decisively deal with water challenges facing the globe.

This year’s theme aims to understand whether people are valuing water in their lives and advocates for behavioural change in the manner in which people consume water.

The 2021 WWD comes during a challenging period as the globe is still struggling with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Water is at the centre of the fight against this pandemic as the World Health Organisation has consistently advocated for the washing of hands regularly with soap as the most effective way of preventing the spread.

Water is the catalyst in eradicating poverty, economic growth, creating employment opportunities, fighting global pandemics, therefore it needs to be valued and behavioural change is needed to stop water wastage and vandalism of water infrastructure.

South Africa is a water-scarce country and named one of the 30 driest countries in the world; with a rapidly increasing population. The country’s rainfall is unpredictable and common periods of drought limit the water resources even further. This is also due to the impact of climate change.

According to water scientists, years from now the demand for water might exceed the amount of available water in our country. This means that we must use and share our water more effectively.

In South Africa, water is a basic human right for all and it is entrenched in the country’s Constitution. The South African water resources are managed by the Department of Water and Sanitation to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

Since 1994 the government has been hard at work to ensure that all South Africans have access to water.

The 2021 campaign raises among others the challenges noted in the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, such as insufficient water, infrastructure maintenance and investment, recurrent droughts caused by climate change, inequities in access to water and sanitation plus water quality.

Through the NWW, the Department strives to cooperate and actively engage with stakeholders to find solutions to these. Against this background, the Department of Water and Sanitation would like to urge all South Africans to continue saving water as a precious and scarce resource.

(Source: Department of Water and Sanitation).