Giving new life to water

AT present certain areas in the region have been put on water shedding, and residents should be looking for alternative ways to re-use collected water as fresh water becomes more scarce.

Those most affected by the lack of rainfall are living in rural areas with no piped water, which constitutes a large portion of the residents of Zululand.

Rural areas including uMlalazi, Ntambanana, Nkandla, uMfolozi and Mthonjaneni are presently being serviced by 1 900 municipal water tankers – at an operating cost of around R5.3-million per annum.

Charlene Pienaar of Due Green, an Empangeni-based company specialising in eco-friendly sanitation solutions, says that water purification tablets are the way of the future.

‘We can no longer ignore the water situation, and need to seek out practical solutions to ensure that our community has access to a solution. A lack of clean drinking water lends itself to much larger problems – including the rapid spread of illnesses,’ she said.

One way to ensure that stagnant or collected water is safe for drinking is by using the tablets, which are economical, easy to handle and transport, and are safer than liquid bleach which has been traditionally used to ‘clean’ dirty water before consumption.

‘The Oasis water purification tablets are lethal to pathogenic bacteria, viruses, spores, algae, fungi and cysts, and are suitable for applications in both the disinfection of emergency water, and for addition to water tanks and systems,’ she said.

Pienaar says it is essential that politicians and traditional leaders within the rural communities are trained in the effective utilisation of water-purification tablets.

‘Simply adding one effervescent tablet to dirty water makes it immediately safe for drinking following effervescence.’

For more on the waterless urinal waste system go to Nu Leaf Projects or visit Charlene Pienaar’s Facebook page Due Green and email charlene@sureflo.co.za