READER LETTER | Water is precious and needs to be preserved

When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, he described earth as “a shining blue pearl spinning in space”.

The blue colour is, in fact, the amount of water that is present on the surface. 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, but of this, about 97% is salt water, with only 3% fresh water.

Water is life and it’s priceless. Life on earth depends on water for survival. Water knows no boundaries and as it flows over the earth’s surface, it is used by plants, animals and humans to survive.

SA is water-stressed, that’s why we have to use water sparingly. If we are not careful, the demand for water will soon out strip supply in SA. And as the human population increases, the demand for water becomes greater.

Apart from alleged climate change/global warming, there are also other factors that influence water shortage in SA , like urbanisation, deforestation, damming of rivers, destruction of wetlands, industry, mining, agriculture and accidental water pollution.

South Africans, if this is the water situation in our country at present, what of the future? Together we must address the cause of the problem, not the symptoms. We must change our attitude towards water because the future of our country lies in our hands. Let’s respect water and all life.

Bushy Green, Kagiso