Water – Every drop counts
It is said that the next world war will be fought over water, or rather the lack of it. Following on from the article on water disruptions in St Francis Today yesterday, it certainly is becoming an emotional issue and the subject of several discussions yesterday. It seems there is a belief by some that water restrictions have already been imposed on St Francis but this is not the case.
At her ‘100 days in office’ presentation to the DA at St Francis Bay Golf Club last month, Kouga Executive Mayor Elza van Lingen stressed the need to save water and that Nelson Mandela Bay Water had advised Kouga Municipality to reduce water consumption by at least 15%. Our mayor explained that it was impossible to immediately ascertain what a 15% saving constituted, particularly as we are entering our holiday season and an obviously massive increase in water usage.
The Kouga council is meeting today to discuss matters relating to water and there can be little doubt that the subject of water restrictions will be on the table. We will have to wait thus for more clarity as to whether punitive measures will be put in place….. BUT!
Why do we need to wait for the ‘big stick’ to make us aware of the value of this precious resource? Surely the majority of us living, or holidaying in St Francis are educated enough to understand that we simply cannot live without water. We have already experienced the inconvenience of a stuttering electricity supply and we certainly don’t want a repeat where water is restricted to only a few hours a day or worse still, no water!.
Everybody can play their part. Put your hosepipe away in the garage so there is no temptation to use it and make sure your gardener knows not to use it. Lawns will survive even if they may turn a little brown for even the lightest rain or morning dew will sustain them. Yesterday a gardener was spotted using a hose to clean the windows at a house on the canals. Not acceptable!
If you have a swimming pool there is a handy solution available (read http://aquarista.co.za/services/pool-backwash/) that will allow you to recycle the backwash. Not only will it save water it will save you money and make sure you cover the pool when not in use to reduce evaporation. There are so many ways to save water and if you need some fresh ideas search Google for “ways to save water”.
Sadly there is little we can do about the thousands of visitors who will no doubt consume huge amounts of water, some not caring as they won’t be picking up the water bill at the end of their stay but somehow we need to appeal to them to save water. Hopefully St Francis Tourism will insert a :SAVE WATER” leaflet in the information pack they give out to arriving holiday makers.
Every drop counts
We are putting a bucket in the shower to catch water, which we then use to water plants/vegies in the garden. We have also put plastic basins in the wash up sink in the kitchen. If the water is not too greasy, we also use that water in the garden. If things become worse the shower bucket water can be used to fill up the cistern in the toilet. just a few things that can make a difference. Also DO NOT put sprinklers on in the middle of the day when it is at its hottest and most of the water will get evaporated into the air even before it waters the ground.