On Saturday, 18 September 2021, South Africa will join hands the rest of the world in celebrating World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) to highlight the importance of keeping our water resources clean and healthy and the negative effects of pollution on the resources.
Annually, on 18 September, the world celebrates World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) as a way to increase public awareness and involvement in water monitoring and protecting water resources around the world. WWMD is an annual international educational day to raise public awareness on the importance of the quality of water and issues of the pollution of water bodies. The primary objective of WWMD is to educate and involve citizens in the protection of the world’s water resources. WWMD engages people of all ages in monitoring the condition of local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies. World Water Monitoring Day is a reminder of the important thing that every individual must always do: to keep our water resources clean and healthy for quality water.
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The pollution of water resources is major problem facing the management of water resources. Pollution is a major risk to the quality of water in our water resources. Water pollution is mainly a man-made problem and in some areas, people have turned water resources into waste dumping sites, even throwing disposable nappies and dead animals into the water resources. The dumping of waste in our waterbodies negatively affects water quality which also affects the quantity of water fit for use.
The other major threat to water quality in our water resources is the malfunctioning waste water treatment works that dispose raw sewage in the water resources. Municipalities need to ensure that their waste water treatment plants function properly to prevent sewer spillages and this is the reason the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has revived the Blue and Green Drop certification programme.
It is also important to monitor industries and the agricultural sector to ensure that they do not dispose toxic waste in our water resources. DWS as the custodian of water resources in the country encourages the public to adopt water courses around them and keep them clean and healthy at all times to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of quality water for the current and future generations. The public must also respect the watercourses and ensure that they are always protected to ensure a healthy environment and water security for the current and future generations.
