As Cape Town continues to face the threat of its taps running dry,schools are finding ways to stop the water crisis menacing teaching.
ID Mkhize, Gugulethu Comprehensive, Injongo Primary and Noluthando School for the Deaf are among those that have adopted rigorous water-saving initiatives.
Cape Town has been experiencing severe drought for months and at the beginning of the month the City of Cape Town introduced Level 6B water restrictions, which limit individual daily consumption to 50 litres.
The City also started a blitz on water wasters, nailing car washes across the townships.
Ayanda Ncinane, principal at Noluthando, said they had asked parents to send their children to school with their own drinking water.
Parents had also agreed to take 20 litres of water to the school every month.
The school has managed to get JoJo water tanks and stopped washing its minibuses.
“We have stopped watering our grass. We have just discovered now that we have a borehole, but it is not working. We would appreciate it if we could get funding to fix it. We are only using water to flush toilets,” he said.
Principal at Injongo, Sithembele Mhletywa, said the school had reduced its water usage. Pupils had been told not to leave taps running. Supply to some taps had been turned off.
The school plans to use its borehole water in case of emergency.
Mr Mhletywa said they were also planning to ask parents to give their children drinking water from home.
They were also considering the use of hand sanitisers in the classroom. He urged local businesses to donate water to the school in preparation for coming months.
“We are glad that we have received drinking water.
“We need more, though, especially at this time.
“I urge parents to educate their children about the importance of saving water. Every drop counts,” he said.
ID Mkhize principal, Zola Phahlana, said they had been invited to the premier’s office to hear about government’s plans to deal with the water crisis.
The school’s own plans involve checking the water meter twice daily and recording consumption.
The school has decided to close some of the taps and asked staff and pupils to take their own water, although this is not mandatory.
Mr Phahlana said the school would use its borehole in case of emergency. Comprehensive’s principal Ntsikelelo Ngcenge said the school checked for leaks and encouraged pupils to take water from home. He said the school had plans to sink a borehole.
