2009-03-24: Johannesburg Water launched its public education campaign

2009-03-24: Johannesburg Water launched its public education campaign

SERVICE delivery and public education remains top priorities for Johannesburg Water (JW). To demonstrate this JW today successfully launched its public education campaign, Water Warriors, at Jabulani Mall, Soweto.

Contrary to belief, South Africa is a country that does not have an abundant of supply of water and could well be described as a semi desert region with a water shortage. The average rainfall to South Africa is 397mm, compared with a world average of 860mm. In addition, there is an increasing number of factors that could lead South Africa into a water crisis situation such as climate change, and an increase in population that will inevitably lead to an increase in water consumption.

There is therefore a dire need for communities to start realizing the importance of conserving water because, as it is, many of our communities already do not have adequate access to water. Due to the sense of urgency of this situation, JW has developed a Demand Side Management strategy as a direct intervention to tackle this challenge. JW has put into place a number of initiatives that are already in various stages of implementation to support the objectives of Demand Side Management. A prime example of this is Water Warriors-a public education campaign aimed at raising awareness about water conservation. By educating and engaging the general public on issues of water management, JW aims to partner with communities in ensuring the reduction in water losses.

Through this public education campaign JW will be educating communities about water conservation and do's and don'ts of good water management. The water warrior public education programme will aim to arouse that "battler" spirit of the communities around the city. It will seek to encourage communities to become the leaders of a movement that will wage war against water wastage and will further encourage the residents of the city to join and do their bit of the "war" effort. The success of this initiative will be enhanced by our collaboration with other stakeholders and we look forward to growing this relationship.

As part of JW public education campaign the following individuals were today unveiled as Water Warriors:

Dj Sbu,

Pro (musician),

Lungelo (musician)

Nhlanhla (musician),

Brickz (musician).

The activities of these individuals will be complemented by the development of educational resource materials that will enable JW to wage war against water wastage. Through this initiative our communities will become part of the movement and learn the values of water management. The roll out of this project has commenced in Soweto with billboards, wall murals and it will be extended to other areas across the city in the next financial year.

For further enquiries please contact:

Tebatso Baldwin Matsimela

082 859 0459