Work on the eradication of bucket toilets in the Free State is well underway, reports the Department of Water & Sanitation (DWS).

The department has concluded work on building adequate sanitation in the towns of Dealsville, Fouresmith, Boshoff and Reddersburg. To date 13 880 toilets have been built, but some lack the water supply to operate due to the drought and lack of infrastructure. There are approximately 1 800 newly flushing toilets completed. The rest of the toilets will flush as soon as the bulk water supply infrastructure is completed. The town of Hertzogville will reportedly be completed before the end of September 2016.

To respond to drought and water scarcity, DWS will be looking into grey water reticulation in the towns of Reitz, Petrussteyn, Lindley, Arlington, Senekal and Clocolan. This project will mainly focus on recycling water that is flushed, cleaning and redirecting it for use in toilets only.

In a bid to reduce water flushed in toilets the department has also developed the Drop-a-Block campaign. This campaign is aimed at reducing the use of water from 9 litres to 7 litres with every flush. The user simply drops a green odourless, non-perishable plastic block filled with sand into the toilet cistern. The department will soon be rolling out the blocks to all towns in the Free State for use in flushing toilets.