An estimated R4 billion is needed to fund a drought mitigation plan aimed at aiding all of the provinces affected by drought since January this year.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) came to this conclusion after compiling a detailed report of its response to the drought that has been rapidly spreading across South Africa after a slow onset since April 2014.

The R4 billion is needed for funding and support to municipalities through reprioritised funds for water and wastewater infrastructure refurbishment and development, as well as grants such as the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grants (RBIG) and the Municipal Water Infrastructure Grants (MWIC) which already exist within the department.

To accelerate this, the DWS identified various projects to implement through these grants. These include projects that are not necessarily related to the present drought situation, but would increase resilience in water supply.

In a bid to combat the effects of drought in remote areas, the DWS has also purchased and allocated a total of 118 mobile water tankers and sixteen large 80 kl storage tankers. Additionally, assistance through a total of 5 152 refurbished and newly-drilled boreholes has been provided.

The Department of Water and Sanitation and other waters sector stakeholders are also utilising various water conservation and water demand management campaigns to foster behavioural change in water use amongst communities.

These campaigns include the Drop-The-Block campaign which is aimed at saving water by reducing volumes in water-borne sanitation systems and also the Clear Rivers Campaign which encourages citizens to clean natural water sources.

The drought conditions, which is the result of diminishing dam levels associated with the El Niño occurrence, led to cabinet declaring eight provinces (all except Gauteng) as drought disaster areas.