A local organisation is currently seeking funding from businesses for the instalment of an electronic billboard promoting responsible water use.
The billboard will form part of the Kayamandi River Partnership’s (KRP) aim to address the issue of water pollution in the Plankenburg River and Krom River by promoting responsible water use in Kayamandi, Enkanini and Plankenburg. This is according to Dr Leanne Seeliger, project leader and researcher at the Stellenbosch University Water Institute (SUWI).
“The KRP is in the process of pitching to local businesses to support the project,” said Meluxolo Mbali, an intern at SUWI.
The organisation has sent out messages to a number of local businesses requesting support for the project, said Mbali. “The correspondence explains the aims and objectives of the project,” he added.
The KRP is also working with the Stellenbosch Municipality and the department of water and sanitation, according to Mbali.
The proposed location of the Kayamandi River Partnership’s (KRP) electronic billboard is a field where the Kromburg River meets the Plankenburg River. PHOTO: Supplied/Google Maps
There is a large field on George Blake Street where the Kromburg River meets the Plankenburg River that would be well-suited for the project, according to Seeliger.
“The permanent electronic board will show water education programs and even movies for kids,” said Seeliger.
Dr Leanne Seeliger explaining why there is a need to raise awareness around responsible water use in the communities of Kayamandi, Enkanini and Plankenburg. AUDIO: Tina Ddamulira
The billboard will also be used to generate revenue to sustain KRP activities, as it will provide advertising space for those businesses that wish to collaborate with the KRP, said Morris.
“[Businesses] would be able to advertise,” said Morris. “It would sort of be a multi-use billboard. You could put educational things up, anything you can display visually,” she added.
The KRP was initiated by Seeliger after the SUWI received a call about children playing in the Plankenburg River, only to discover that the children were actually playing in the Krom River, which is less polluted, according to the KRP website.
“We were in the panic stage [when arriving at the river] because if the children swim in the Plankenburg River, they might end up in hospital,” recalled Seeliger.
The water pollution in the Plankenburg River is partly due to industrial effluent from businesses, claimed Seeliger. It is also due to insufficient ablution facilities in the surrounding areas, which results in people throwing their waste water into the street and creating sewage, she added.
“Through research and the KRP we are looking for ways of bringing all the parties together, especially the schools, so as to make the students aware of the dangers of swimming in the polluted water,” said Seeliger.
The KRP is running a number of projects which aim to raise awareness and promote responsible water-use behaviour, according to Seeliger.
MatieMedia reached out to the Stellenbosch Municipality and the department of water and sanitation for comment, but they had not responded at the time of publishing.