Atteridgeville

Today started with Dale and I hitting a waste water treatment plant.  Tshwane actually has 14 of them across the region.  Given the challenges with water access and loss, we wanted to understand how these plants operate since the water is released back into the river once treated.  As the population and water needs grow, it will put a larger need on these plants to provide clean water for the local communities.

Afterwards, the full team headed out to the community of Atteridgeville to hear from the residents directly how they view water.  It was certainly eye opening.  We started with a community meeting with all the ward leaders and councilors of Atteridgeville.  Then, we headed out to some informal settlements which are essentially shanty towns where people have taken over some land (illegally) and built shacks to live in.  This is a huge problem across South Africa since these areas often don't have proper water, electricity and sanitation services.

We spoke to many members of the community who shared the difficulties in obtaining clean water.  Some households are lucky enough to have their own water tap but many in the informal settlements need to rely on bulk water tanks which can be upto 500 meters away.  Carrying water from the tanks to their individual homes is a full-time job for some families.  We also noticed huge water leaks everywhere which in most cases are not even reported.  Huge volumes of clean water is being completely lost due to these leaks in the infrastructure.  In some cases, the leaks are so significant that they are damaging the already weak roads.



There was one bright spot.  We stumbled onto a community garden.  Thirteen women in the community were growing veggies to be used at a local hospice.  Despite water shortages even within the garden, they are determined to keep it going to give back to their community!

#ibmcsc