The supply of rain water harvesting tanks and studying the viability of groundwater “in areas where few or no alternative water resources exist” are two drought-fighting measures the KwaZulu-Natal water department is busy with. In a statement on Wednesday‚ department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said that while KZN “normally receives high rainfall…the current drought has had a devastating effect with dams in the province being at an all-time low”.To help “avert a water crisis” the department has dispatched water tankers to “communities whose water sources have dried up with water through tankers”‚ he said.Ratau said “systems-level drought disaster committees” – comprising stakeholders like municipalities‚ water boards and irrigators – had been established and these “meet regularly to monitor compliance to water restrictions and the performance of implemented mitigation measures”.Those are short-term measures‚ but to “meet future demand the department has done a number of hydrological and catchment assessment studies to understand the water resource and its availability”‚ Ratau said. But‚ while the department “is building additional dams to harvest more rainfall runoff during the wet season for use during dry periods…it should be noted that last season’s rainfall failed to significantly increase dam storage levels”.Rain water harvesting tanks‚ Ratau opined‚ address “one of our biggest problems‚ namely that rainwater is often immediately absorbed‚ or evaporates due to the hot and unsaturated soil leaving little room for rainfall runoff to reach or replenish dams and aquifers”.“By using rainwater harvesting tanks‚ rain can be harvested and stored for later usage‚” Ratau explained. Groundwater as a viable option in resource-scarce areas was also being considered as “a particularly attractive alternative as this resource is fairly drought-resistant”. “Needless to say‚ as with all water taken directly from the source such as rivers‚ ponds and impoundments‚ groundwater must be managed responsibly‚” said Ratau.“This includes avoiding having pit latrines or any other longer-term waste disposal sites near boreholes to prevent contamination.”..