Friday, 9 February, 2018
Candice Barnes, Elsenburg 3rd year student
Many are skeptical about the drought, saying it's a ploy and that the government is using it as a money making scheme. I can guarantee that this is not the case.
Winemaker and lecturer, Lorraine Geldenhuys, felt it was important for the Elsenburg Cellar Technology class of 2018 to take the drive to Theewaterskloof dam in order to realise the magnitude of the drought. It's not real until you've seen it right?
We have been told that the water is no longer being pumped out of the dam as a result of its low level. This is the situation we are currently facing. Vines which were planted in 1940 on the bank of the dam and then submerged around 1970, when the dam was expanded, have now resurfaced. For the first time in 48 years the vines are now visible.
As we walked through the dried, dead vines, we discovered some more heartbreak. There were fish skeletons between the vines. The drought at Theewaterskloof has created its own graveyard.
Day zero is drawing near. If we don't stop wasting water soon, we will be seeing more heart-breaking scenes like the Theewaterskloof 'graveyard'.