Water, water everywhere. But not a drop to drink.

My thoughts echoed Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s lamentations while visiting the flowers of Namaqualand and the Western Cape in August this year.

The beauty portrayed by these wonderful miracles of nature was tempered only by their sparseness caused by the terrible drought in this region of our country, another result of which being Level 5 water restrictions.

Then, near the end of our travels we enjoyed a small downpour, reportedly 8mm in Yserfontein. Where did this water go? Down the drain!

In an area so affected by drought, it is inconceivable that every drop is not harvested and used as a domestic supply. Yet not a storage tank to be seen in the area.

Above: Paternoster, Good to see the wind turbines – water tanks still missing

Every 10mm of rain falling on 100m² of roof yields 1000L (one ton) of water – in our guest house, that would have meant some 1,600L could have been harvested during this one small shower. When you are only allowed 20,000L a month, Level 5 restriction, surely this is significant?

We did see columns of JoJo tank haulers headed south, on our return trip, which is great for next time but a little late for today’s crisis. Still – well done to some initiative on the go.

Let’s not wait for a crisis to act, look after our (SA’s) water security, harvest and conserve water today.

The costs are not huge and the implications of living without water, whether due to supply, management or infrastructure are severe.

My lamentation for the day “JoJos, Jojos everywhere. But not a tank installed.”

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