Even though Mandela Day is only two days away, there’s still more than enough time to make your contribution this month. The Department of Water and Sanitation has launched an awesome initiative to prevent water pollution in light of Mandela Month.
Join the annual Clean Rivers campaign to make a difference in the community by dedicating 67 minutes of your time to help clean up streams, wetlands, canals, dams and other freshwater bodies.
Department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau said:
“What we ultimately aim to achieve is to foster volunteerism among communities as a proactive approach to protecting our rivers, streams, wetlands and other water ecosystems.”
According to News24, initiatives for the Clear Rivers campaign were being run by partners across the Western Cape, including Cape Town TV, Shoprite, Stellenbosch River Collaboration, Garden City, and EnviroServe.
“The impact hoped for, which is still work in progress, is for enhanced river/water ecosystems’ health, protection of the environment, and replenishing of the ecosystems’ fauna and flora, as well as appreciation of our water ecosystems” Ratau maintains.
Some of the rivers that need cleaning, as outlined by the Department, includes the Liesbeek/Black River and Jonkersberg rivers.
“Let us join hands and stop the use of our streams and rivers as dumping sites. Pollution affects the water quality and also blocks their normal flow, leaving communities downstream without access to water. The DWS also calls on the public to stop the dumping of disposable nappies in the watercourses as it is like dumping raw sewage in the water systems, negatively affecting crops, livestock and human beings downstream,” Ratau adds as cited by Lowvelder.
The Department urged the public to work towards small changes as opposed to engaging in large group clean-ups in order to adhere to the current Covid-19 restrictions.
Picture: Supplied