Antoinette Tigar, Nooitgedacht Village
We recently moved to Stellenbosch from Durban, and it struck me as odd that we didn’t see any water tanks or reservoirs along the road sides.
Most roads have deep ditches or trenches running alongside – if there were large tanks installed at 100m intervals, with a pipe or drain system, they would be quickly filled by run-off from the roads during the winter rains.
The sealed tanks would preserve the water until needed in summer.
When fires flare up, the fire trucks could plug their hoses into the water tanks and spray where needed.
Municipalities must really be more pro-active in harvesting and storing rain water.
Yes, the initial cost would be huge, but surely much cheaper than helicopters and property losses.