South Africa's Water Minister reveals measures to alleviate impact of drought on rural communities

Minister Mokonyane revealed the scale of the effect of the drought and the state of water security in especially rural South Africa:

• An estimated 6 500 stand-alone rural communities are currently experiencing water shortages. These are mostly situated in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West provinces.
• This number could increase to over 11 000 rural communities as the dry period extended and local water resources got depleted.
• In badly affected areas such as the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, southern parts of Mpumalanga, and parts of Limpopo, North West and the Northern Cape, about 50% of local water storage is problematic and could become critical if not managed carefully.

What is government doing?

• The government is spending about 350 million rand ($25 million) on measures to reduce the effects of the drought, such as drilling boreholes, upgrading infrastructure, capturing more rainwater and building desalination plants, facilities that make sea water potable.
• It will spend a further 95 million rand on water tanks and other steps to alleviate the drought.

A pink Hippo Water Roller (hipporoller.org)

In 2012, Government has recognised the Hippo Water Roller as an appropriate innovative technology for most rural areas in South Africa. – Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, 2012. (See report attached or read here..

Attached link

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Taxonomy

• Storage Tank
• Community Supply
• Solutions
• Rural Area Water Supply
• Government