Alarm bells concerning the state of South Africa’s water supply have been ringing for some time now.

Reports from various sources, such as the environmental programme 50/50 and other media, as well as the damning report which caused Dr Anthony Turton of the CSIR to be suspended over so-called “unsubstantiated allegations,” have served to underline the fact that this is a situation which government appears to be reluctant to acknowledge or address.

Louis Trichardt residents have firsthand experience of the negligent treatment of this impending crisis by the powers that be. Some residents have had to make do without a steady water supply for about a year now. Others frequently have to come up with solutions on how to cope with being without water for extended periods of time. Still others have to deal with the health risk involved in raw sewage running down the street or through their yard. In the surrounding areas, some villages have never had a proper water supply that can fulfil the needs of their residents. Based on these and other facts that readers might have experienced themselves, a media release issued by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) becomes that much more ominous.

The media release indicates that South Africa faces the gravest crisis in its history – a chronic shortage of clean water. Newspaper stories and commentators have predicted that wars and social unrest will be caused by this water shortage, and that the entire country’s economy could collapse if the quality of South Africa’s water is not improved. The release goes on to point out that some worrying signs have already been detected, namely an upsurge in water-borne diseases in both rural and urban areas, reports of watersporting events’ being cancelled because of the poor quality of the water, and of bacteria finding their way into foodstuffs because of polluted irrigation. The recent outbreak of cholera in various parts of the country comes to mind here.

The economic impact of this will be profound. The European Union is already considering a ban of imports of South African fruit and vegetables because of contamination. Recently, a cargo load of grapes was returned to South Africa because it did not comply with export health regulations.

The greatest irony of the crisis is that it is entirely preventable. The country has enough water for its citizens, but this water supply is becoming useless, largely due to a collapse in water treatment. The NTU has set up a water committee to prevent the further deterioration of the country’s water supply.

“Until very recently, South Africa used to have a water quality that was amongst the highest in the world,” says Jaap Kelder, chairman of the NTU. “But a lack of maintenance by local government [structures] has led to our water quality deteriorating sharply.”

Kelder adds, however, that the decline is not irreversible – yet.

“The infrastructure to keep our water clean is still largely in place. We have not yet reached the point of no return. But we must take urgent action. For this reason, the NTU has convened a water committee that aims to intervene where municipalities cannot maintain the water quality, and act within the Water Act and the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) to place water supply in the hands of competent managers. The MSA makes provision for external service providers where the need arises, and our water supply situation has now reached a point where some municipalities can no longer be trusted with the handling and operation of sewage and sewage works.”

Kelder called upon residents of towns and on farmers in South Africa to join the NTU to intervene where their water supply is threatened, so that the decline in water quality across the country can be halted.