Marcus Monyakeni
Department of Water and Sanitation

 As a result most municipalities and water services authorities experience high water loss due to pipe bursts, and leakages of water meter connection.

Community members are requested to report leakages to relevant authorities whom are water service providers be it municipalities and water services responsible of providing water to the specific community. Some municipalities has dedicated call centres for community members to report water and sanitation related issues.

Community members are advised to call the Department of  Water and Sanitation (DWS) Toll Free number at 0800 200-200 should their local municipality fail to attend their concern of water leakage. During winter period and beyond as we all know water is life therefore every citizen is a water ambassador.

When temperatures remain below freezing point for a prolonged period, exposed copper pipes similar to the ones for geysers are at risk of freezing. This can be prevented. Simply by insulating exposed pipes with warm insulator or cloth to keep water flowing preventing ice blockage by freezing temperature.

When away from the house for an extended period of time during winter, a solution is to drain the water system by shutting off main water valve and turn on every water fixtures (both hot and cold lines) until water stops running. It’s not necessary to leave the fixtures open, since the system is filled mostly with air at that point and not subject to freezing. When returning to the house, turn on the main valve and let each fixture run until the pipes are full again.

 Water can still be used sparingly during winter keeping us warm by simply replacing unnecessary full hot bath with a full cup of tea or coffee. A shower that takes longer than 5 minutes forming steam in the bathroom is a sign of negligence on water. In the process water gets wasted and the interior of the walls and ceiling also gets damaged due to bad shower behaviour. As citizens of South Africa we all know “Mzantsi” is not a winter rainy country. Let us use water sparingly report leakages and be viable during winter. “Water is Life”