Are you making an effort to save water and if so, HOW?
The Kouga save water campaign should be taken seriously! Cape Town’s water crisis has seen it recently declared a disaster and although the Nelson Mandela Bay water system from which Kouga draws its water is not quite as serious as in the Western Cape, the chart at the bottom of this post does not bode well if the falling levels continue at the same rate as in the past year.
According to the Department of Water & Sanitation the Algoa Water Supply System is at 39.6% compared to 78.2% at this time of the year in 2016. These dams include: Impofu – 65.7%, Kouga – 23%, Loerie – 44.8% and Groendal – 56.2%
Our largest dam, Kouga has seen the most significant decrease falling from around 70% a year ago to just 21% this month. Kouga dam is our main water source and it really is not that far off Western Cape levels so YES the situation is serious.
It really is up to us, every man, woman and child to take the threat of water shortages seriously and to do everything possible to conserve water. Consider life with an allocation of 100 litres a day, ask anyone in Cape Town how life changing this has become.
Several readers have called and e-mailed St Francis Today and drawn attention to unoccupied houses using sprinkler systems to water their gardens. Domestic help has been spotted washing down windows and even washing cars with hose pipes. This truly is both irresponsible and inconsiderate and it is up to each of us to educate our staff as to just how serious the situation is.
Some homes could be using borehole or well water to keep their lawns green and their flowers blooming but there are those who are using precious drinking water and these have to be stopped. Home owners who do not reside in St Francis and only visit the area at weekends or over the holidays should be encouraged to maybe torn off their water mains when not is residence for even a leaking tap left for several months can use a significant amount of water. Lawns wil survive without regular watering and the odd shower that we are sure to experience in the coming months is certainly enough to sustain and keep them green.
How are you saving water?
Please share your water saving ideas in the COMMENTS below. Every drop does count!
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FOOTNOTE:
Need your car washed?
Rather than having your car washed at home with a hose, the car wash behind the second hand store on Assisi Drive, next to the petrol station is good alternative. They do a great cleaning job, inside and out and save you both water and electricity. They charge just R110 which considering how thorough they are, it is a good deal.
Shower with buckets or basins at your feet and then use that water to flush the loo.
Save all washing up water and shower water in buckets and basins. Use for flushing toilets and in the garden. DO NOT BATH SHOWER ONLY. Switch off whiist soaping. Limit water usage when cleaning teeth. Direct washing up water out on to the lawn. Collect rain water in tanks.
municipity should turn water off at houses where tenants are not in residence. It’s not a question of whether one can afford to pay but saving every precious drop before we are in same position as Cape Town
I’m on the other side of the globe — in Canada. Generally we have lots of water, but I cringe when I see people wasting it, because we don’t get a lot of rain in my area, and snow doesn’t always contain a lot of water, so spring melt isn’t always wet, if that makes sense.
I conserve water in my household as much as humanly possible. We do not use the dishwasher. I wash dishes by hand, and use a basin to rinse them after washing. The basin is then poured under my trees or on flowerbeds, depending on what is the driest. In winter, I shovel sow onto my perennial flowerbeds & move it under the trees. I’m big on using grey water instead of wasting it.
IF I was in a drought situation as you are there in Africa, I would put the plug in my bathtub when I shower & I would use that water on lawns and/or to wash the vehicle (I don’t drive, though, so no vehicle to wash).
I personally feel that all new houses SHOULD be build with grey water tanks — so that the water you shower in or that you use in the kitchen to wash vegetables or wash dishes can be reused to flush the toilet or water the lawn & gardens or be used to wash the car. I have never understood why we are using good clean drinkable water to flush the toilet (but I don’t have a choice, it’s how houses are built, unfortunately).
I hope for you all to get some direly needed precipitation & get those reservoirs filled! I was reading something recently about India or Pakistan having come up with a way to treat sea water to remove the salt then make it into drinkable water, and they’re having great success with it. I think it would be an expensive proposition BUT it would solve so many issues, from empty reservoirs to solving rising sea levels due to climate change… just a thought, looking to the future, since those are the big issues South Africa are facing right now. Cheers!