Provide water for communities and environment over mining and industry

The state of water in South Africa is dire. Sewage from our cities is flowing into
rivers. While some communities do not have access to these services; where
the services do exist, they are polluting rivers and dams for downstream users.

Farmers can no longer sell their goods to markets due to the toxic level of
pollution. Municipalities have been holding service delivery protests where they
have been denied access to clean water. Towns have been without adequate
water in the Free State since late 2015. Good Samaritans bring truckloads of
bottled water to keep people and livestock alive where municipalities have
failed. This is not sustainable.

As dams reach critical levels, water to residents is restricted. In cities where excessive heat is produced by concrete roads and buildings; trees and gardens are vital to maintain liveable temperatures. Greening can offset heating due to climate change, but instead trees and gardens are being lost without water to maintain them.

From any angle the situation is dire. It is absolutely critical that we find quick solutions to avert total
collapse of our society and ecosystem.

We do not see anything being done to change this course.
What we see is a government supporting fracking and mining in sensitive areas. We see water use licenses issued for new sewage lines running through wetlands, constructed for shopping centres in
wealthy suburbs. We see wetlands and dams graded over for parking lots or sports fields for expensive private schools; and construction vehicles spraying water all day to suppress the dust. These projects can only be seen as a luxury in a country as dry as ours.

None of these projects are uplifting the poor or meeting the desperate needs of our society. Nor are they introducing new technology that will save or recycle water, or protect our water resources. Instead our water resources are being destroyed.

Wetland species are losing habitat and our water stores, critically important in times of drought, are being replaced with concrete drains that will increase flooding incidents when the rain does fall.

Why does the average person always have to suffer and cut back on water when industry and polluters are given a free pass? Certainly those who use the most water – those being industry, mining and construction should cut back so we can meet people’s basic needs? Certainly those that pollute and destroy should pay for cleaning up and fixing the problems?

Dear Minister Mokonyane, please help change the course of South Africa. Create jobs by fixing broken infrastructure; by rehabilitating wetlands and cleaning our rivers and dams. Protect our beautiful heritage from disastrous mining applications. Jobs will be created through tourism, intensive small scale farming and replacing failing infrastructure with onsite sanitation that recycles or uses less water.

Now is the time for government to turn its focus to those who elected it into power. Those whose basic needs and constitutional rights have been trampled on. Please act now to protect the lives of people and the environment before it is too late.