The number of water tanks distributed across water-deprived regions in Gauteng has increased to 1 785, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says.
Since the national lockdown was implemented on March 26, the department has been distributing water tanks nationally in an effort to provide communities with sufficient water during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The department is mainly targeting drought-stricken areas, rural communities and indigent and densely populated communities to ensure that they access water easily and swiftly in the form of water tanks and water tankers,” the DWS said in a statement.
“It is in everyone’s interest that the needy communities are provided access to clean water, as this means that they would be able to wash their hands regularly to prevent a crisis of the infection rate going up,” said DWS Gauteng head Sibusiso Mthembu.
The DWS reported significant strides in different areas of the province, including the cities of Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and the West Rand and Sedibeng district municipalities.
“As Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has instructed us, we must ensure that families are not devastated by this virus simply because they do not have access to water to practice proper hygiene. The country is presently in uncharted waters as we have not experienced something like this before. So, this is not a time to let up but to double our efforts to ensure that we defeat this virus,” he said.