The Clear River Campaign is a yearly effort by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to clean up and safeguard the water resources.
The campaign, which has as its slogan “South Africa is a water source country, clean up and protect our water resources,” seeks to actively involve communities as well as to promote and create ongoing awareness and education about protecting our water resources among communities, municipalities, government departments, and Industries like mining and agriculture, which are major sources of water pollution.
Given the ongoing drought in many areas of the country, taking a proactive approach to safeguarding rivers, streams, wetlands, and other water habitats is highly advised.
Everyone is encouraged to spend their 67 minutes of goodwill activities cleaning up streams, wetlands, dams, canals, and other freshwater sources as part of the campaign.
Everybody is invited to help clean up the aquatic ecosystems at any time during Mandela Month.
People should demonstrate the importance of clean water during the Clear River campaign, especially for their own healthy development, as rivers work best when they are healthy, including their capacity to self-clean.
As a result, everyone is urged to be an active and responsible citizen and to take part in the promotion of healthy waterways.
It is impossible to emphasise the link between healthy communities and clean rivers since it is up to community members to maintain our rivers and keep them free of trash.
According to the National Water Act of 1998 and the Water Services Act of 1997, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) mandate is to oversee and support the provision of efficient water supply and sanitation in order to ensure that the nation’s water resources are safeguarded, managed, used, developed, conserved, and controlled.
Most rivers and streams are facing significant pollution as a result of human behaviour, including unlawful dumping of trash including papers, plastics, diapers, empty cans, animal skins, and even chemicals that contaminate our water supplies.
Mr. Sputnik Ratau, the department’s spokesperson, urged the public to take a stand, establish platforms, voice their concerns, and respond to incidents of river pollution by cleaning their rivers.
He also urged the public to report any irregular activities that could result in water pollution, such as illegal dumping, to the DWS Hotline at 0800 200 200.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Republic of South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation.