Speakers point to challenges faced in a dry country with high water wastage but also to innovations and partnerships.
Leonardo Manus of the Department of Water and Sanitation explained the link between water and sanitation, and the importance of the Green Drop audit process which monitors water authorities’ and municipalities’ ability to provide acceptable services.
“All ordinary South Africans want is a toilet that works, a toilet that gives them dignity, a toilet that is safe to use and will look after their health and hygiene,” he said. Valerie Naidoo, executive manager of the Water Research Commission, said that in addition to the direct challenges of water supply, access and quality, there were the global challenges of climate change – droughts, floods, temperatures or rising sea levels which would all affect South Africa.
“We have to rethink water and sanitation and be innovative, not only around technology but our approaches and processes,” she said, calling for a paradigm shift in achieving access, reallocating resources to ensure that communities were not only provided with the services they needed but became more resilient in future.
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