A crisis of myopia
Mmegi Editor | Tuesday September 1, 2015 15:53
At first, the restrictions were light, with the banning of garden watering and others, then they tightened to the rationing of supply a few days in the week. As of August 1, 2015, the rationing was increased to four days in a week.
Recent events, however, have convinced many that in fact there is no plan or programme being followed and rather, all is panic stations at the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), with arbitrary, knee-jerk responses being taken.
Besides the drying up of Gaborone Dam, water woes in the South have stemmed from the reliance on the problematic North South Carrier, which provides the majority of the water needs and has thus become a lifeline of sorts.
Across greater Gaborone, taps have run dry – for weeks in some cases – and the Corporation has pointed a finger at the pipeline, citing everything from power cuts, to bursts and to pump station failures. For an organisation that used to pride itself in visionary planning, as evidenced by the existence of intricate drought and demand management programmes, it is curious that the WUC seems to have been caught flat-footed by this crisis.
Through its extensive studies into surface and groundwater resources in Botswana, the WUC has no superior when it comes to water management in the country. With an extensive history of managing water in a semi-arid country, consumers would have thought the WUC would carry them largely unscathed through the failure of Gaborone Dam.
By 2012, red lights were flashing for experts within the Corporation and its parent ministry, as levels at Gaborone Dam passed one response trigger after another.
What is apparent from the recent crisis, however, is that in it’s planning, the Corporation’s worse case scenario was far too positive. Their scenario did not provide for power cuts, for the countless variables involved in conveying water from Letsibogo and for the depletion of Bokaa and Molatedi Dams, among others.
The WUC never thought it would find itself with very little product to ‘ration’ out and apparently did not believe an emergency response needed to be developed. We are in such an emergency at present and rather than haphazard water cuts, the Corporation should indicate that it is following a prudent emergency response programme.
Which areas should expect water cuts, when, what times do you avail supply, how do you alert consumers and keep them all informed? While no one should blame the WUC for the drying up of Gaborone Dam, by virtue of statutorily being the purveyor of water, they shoulder the blame for not foreseeing the depths to which the crisis could sink.