Blog categorized as Opinion Piece

Navigating Waterborne Diseases in a Changing Climate: South Africa’s Urgent Challenge

This opinion piece was written by Dr. Ogone Motlogeloa 


South Africa is confronting a severe crisis where climate change and declining water quality intersect, leading to a significant impact on public health and the environment. This crisis affects all facets of South African life, demanding a ...


25.10.2024 18:10:33
Gauteng’s water crisis: Rand Water's messaging on the crisis

Gauteng consumers and municipalities should use water as though Day Zero is upon us, and get used to that as a way of life.


The recent Rand Water announcement about the constraints in Gauteng’s water supply systems has not successfully raised awareness among residents about the urgent need to reduce ...

21.10.2024 20:44:48
Half the Joburg water reservoirs leak and WaterCAN wants answers

As Day Zero looms in Joburg, the news of the City’s 42 leaking reservoirs underlines the need for transparency


The revelation that half of the City of Joburg’s water reservoirs leak and that the City plans to repair only half of those is shocking, but the release of this information is welcome. “It’s...

08.10.2024 17:29:48
Citizen science leads the way in water monitoring and protection

South Africa’s next big crisis – this time with water – is here, and it will have a much bigger impact than our energy crisis. But citizen science activism can help turn it around. Dr Ferrial Adam, WaterCAN’s executive manager, explains how.


The state of our water resources affects us all, whether yo...

17.09.2024 19:04:57
Mogale City’s Infrastructure Collapse: A Threat to Public Health and Human Rights

Mismanagement and Neglect Expose Mogale City Residents to Health Risks Amid Sewage Crisis


Reports of wilful and persistent sewage pollution by the City of Mogale reveal more than an environmental disaster; they highlight a human rights violation with the potential to cause a public health crisis. The...

17.09.2024 03:50:16
WaterCAN and the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens partner to celebrate World

Water Monitoring Day with nationwide water testing campaign


WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), is proud to announce its 3rd annual water testing month this September, in collaboration with the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens. This initiative is part of the ...

04.09.2024 20:03:45
Tackling the Root Causes of Sewage Manhole Overflows in Our Municipalities


The sight and stench of sewage overflowing from manholes onto our streets highlights a failure in the very systems designed to protect public health and the environment. 
The recurrence of these incidents in municipalities across South Africa underscores systemic issues that demand urgent attent...

22.05.2024 20:59:28
How to jointly stop the water crisis from becoming a national catastrophe


The water crisis in Johannesburg must not be seen as just a localised city issue; it is a symptom of a bigger national and systemic water crisis with high levels of unequal access, poor quality and scarcity exacerbated by climate change, mismanagement, corruption and poor leadership.

There is no quic...


29.03.2024 01:19:58
The lightning strike, the closed tap and the missing mayor: Joburg’s water crisis isn’t over yet


Over 11 days in the National Water Month of March, residents in the City of Johannesburg have been pushed to the edge by the water outage that cut across the city from Soweto in the south to Randpark Ridge in the north. . Residents were told that the outage started on Sunday 3 March with a power out...

18.03.2024 17:22:57
Climate change and South Africa’s water woes — an urgent call to community action


The science of climate change is clear and demands urgent action. The mounting scientific evidence of a climate catastrophe is not going to wait for politicians to get on board to tackle climate change with the urgency it needs. This year’s United Nations 28th Conference of the Parties to the U...

10.12.2023 16:45:35