The Blue Scorpions are gearing up for a busy November as the unit will heighten the number of raids on polluters and those who illegally abstract water from South Africa’s rivers and dams for the irrigation of their crops and other commercial purposes.

November is “Enforcement Month” and Blue Scorpions, the Enforcement unit in the Department of Water and Sanitation, will heighten unannounced visits and issue directives (notices) to those who are transgressing the law.

They will dismantle illegal water pumps and seal electric power points that are used for pumping water in violation of the National Water Act. Mining companies and other industries whose untreated effluent poses a threat to ground water will face the full might of the law.

“We have targeted culprits that we will raid and if need be, we will haul them before the courts,” says Nigel Adams, the head of the “Blue Scorpions” whose enforcement team consists of experienced former policemen and women.

Their raids last year In KwaZulu-Natal uncovered a whole range of illegal sand mining activities along the coastal belt of Umvoti and Illovo rivers.

The modus operandi of the illegal sand miners involved putting sand mounds across a river, thereby blocking the free flow of water.

Adams says the government has a duty to regulate water use for the benefit of all South Africans, in a way which takes into account the nature of water resources and the need to make sure that there is fair access to these resources.

The central part of this is to make sure that these scarce resources are beneficially used in the public interest.

Adams is urging members of the public to contact the department about illegal activities of abstracting water and any matter relating to the pollution of water courses.

“South Africa is a water scarce country and it’s important that we share it fairly and equitably among all its citizens. Stealing water is a crime and it must be uprooted now.”