The hidden costs of water distribution
Environmental groups raise concerns about Operation Hydrate’s widespread distribution of water in plastic bottles.
|||Environmental groups raise concerns over all those plastic bottles water doesn’t come from a bottle. That’s one of the concerns raised by WWF-SA about Operation Hydrate’s widespread distribution of water in plastic bottles in drought relief efforts across South Africa.
By this weekend, Operation Hydrate teams hoped to passed the 9-million-litre mark for water in its deliveries to thirsty communities - most of it supplied in 5-litre plastic bottles.
“The issue is that if it’s obviously people in dire need who have no water resources available, then tankering in water and providing bottled water as a temporary solution is necessary,” said Christine Colvin, the senior manager of the freshwater programme at WWF-SA.
“But we’re more concerned with long-term, sustainable solutions.
“One of the issues with these crisis solutions is that sometimes they morph and evolve into longer-term solutions, and people become used to that.
“Ultimately water comes from healthy catchments... There’s a much more complex water system we need to look after carefully, which sits behind our taps and bottles.
Operation Hydrate’s head, Yusuf Abramjee, said concerns about the amount of plastic used in its water distribution had surfaced on social media and had been discussed at a meeting with the Department of Water and Sanitation this week.
“People have been asking us what happens to all the plastic. But while they are making a noise about that, people are dying because there’s no water.
“We do understand plastic is dangerous for the environment, but let’s be realistic. You have to weigh that against whether you give that water to people who face misery or death or give them water in a plastic bottle.”
This week, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan singled out Operation Hydrate, along with Gift of the Givers, for “leading the way” in the response to the impact of the devastating drought.
Colvin expressed the hope that affected communities would reuse and recycle the bottles supplied by Operation Hydrate.
“The carbon and ecological footprint of supplying bottled water to those communities cannot be a long-term solution - it’s too costly and uses too much energy.
“We need to look at fixing localised systems: boreholes, local storage capacity and rainwater harvesting.
“We wouldn’t wish for communities so desperate for water not to have options - they need the bottled water right now and that’s the reality.
“It’s probably cheaper to tanker water to those communities, but generally we just have to be careful to distinguish between a crisis solution and long-term solution, so the one doesn’t become the other.”
The provision of bottled water was a short-term mechanism, said Abramjee.
He added that Operation Hydrate’s teams were slowly moving into phase two of the campaign, which included delivering water in tankers and repairing boreholes for “long-term sustainability”.
He also gave the assurance that, by the end of next month, its water bottle collection points would be closed.
Yaseen Theba, Operation Hydrate’s co-ordinator, said their campaign was an emergency intervention.
“We’re fully aware of the criticism of all the bottles going into these areas and we’re absolutely conscious of the environmental impact, but this is the quickest way to get water to the people.
“We want to invite the critics to join us and look at the situation on the ground.
“Ideally, we’d love to tanker in water - the bottles cost money and so do the labels. But we pull from massive plants in urban areas to provide the amount of water we need.
“We can’t draw that amount from boreholes in rural areas. There isn’t a quicker way to get water to the people.”
Theba said 10-litre containers were not ideal, as they were too heavy for people to carry.
“We find people using the plastic bottles from our previous drop-off, and running with them to the municipal tankers, so they’re reusing the plastic bottles.”
Operation Hydrate is a “soft target” for criticism, said Trevor Balzer, a senior official at the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned about the carbon footprint related to the manufacturing of plastic bottles and other containers, but millions of bottles of water and fizzy cool drinks are moved every day - far more than Operation Hydrate is moving.”
Saturday Star