Conserve Water — Water is our Life

The post Conserve Water — Water is our Life appeared first on Environment News South Africa.

Conserve Water — Water is our Life

The South African Constitution states that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water. It is important to conserve water in order to be able to meet our current and future demand.

Population Growth

Population growth has had a detrimental effect of how much water is used in the world today. Climate change has affected water supplies in South Africa. Rains that usually come and supply the country’s water has come very infrequently leading to South Africa now being in it’s worst drought in history. Additionally as more and more people migrate into cities from rural villages the pressure for the city to meet the water demands is ever increasing. It is vital that as a society we teach and educate about how to conserve water because there is one very clear fact – When it’s not there, it’s not there. It really is as Simple as that !!!

Major Business needs to play ball

Manufacturing and agricultural industries in South Africa are also under increasing pressure due to their high water usage requirements. It has become a “moral imperative” for major businesses operating in South Africa to adopt water saving schemes for their buildings, thereby helping the country sustain the declining resource.

At the Sustainable Water Resource Conference and Exhibition Wayne Duvenage from Avis said “South Africa is stressed both in the quantity and quantity of water that we have” and Alison Groves, a sustainability consultant at WSP Green by Design, said: “In South Africa we need to get beyond the idea that water is always going to be available.” A number of major South African companies have started implementing systems to conserve water and to recycle the water they use, approaches like this are fast becoming absolutely essential.

All forms of life on Earth have always been dependent on water for survival, and today water holds the key to survival in the future too. There is no more important time than now to conserve water as our very future depends on it. When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969 he described Planet Earth as “a shining blue pearl spinning in space”. The blue colour is, in fact, the water that is present on Earth and the atmosphere.

Tips to save water

Reduce Water Consumption

1. Turn-off the tap while brushing teeth, shaving or soaping hands.
2. Take shorter showers and use less water if you bath.
3. Avoid buying bottled water.
4. Sweep outside areas instead of hosing with water.
5. Use eco-friendly soaps and cleaning products.
6. Fix leaks at home & report public water leaks to the Municipality.
7. Always use a plugged-sink or bowl instead of a running tap.
8. Insulate hot water pipes to reduce time waiting for water to heat up.
9. Install aerators and flow-reducing valves on your taps.
10. Install water saving devices on taps, toilets, showers & sprinklers.
11. Install a water meter and monitor your use.
12. Install an instant water heater at your taps for immediate hot water.

Car

1. Wash your car with a bucket and sponge only.
2. Use a hosepipe with a self-closing nozzle to wash your car.
3. Use a commercial car wash that recycles water.

Bathroom

1. Shower instead of bath.
2. Use less water in the bath.
3. Bathe young children together.
4. Flush the toilet only when odours make it necessary.
5. Put a brick in your cistern to reduce.
6. Install a low-flow shower-head.
7. Install aerators and flow-reducing valves on your taps.
8. Install a dual flush mechanism on your toilet.
9. Install a geyser blanket for insulation.
10. Insulate the copper pipes around the geyser.

Laundry

1. Cut back on washing your towels and linen.
2. Match the size of your laundry load with water volume.
3. Buy an eco-friendly wash ball.
4. Buy a water-efficient washing machine.

Don’t flush trash down the toilet

1. Cigarettes, sanitary pads, paper, plastic etc have ONE place, the garbage bin.
2. Flushing things down the toilet that cannot degrade causes sewerage blockages and sewerage leaks.
3. Sewerage leaks lead to major environmental damage when this reaches our rivers and streams.
4. Use the toilet for one purpose and one purpose only.

Water is the foundation of life. And still today, all around the world, far too many people spend their entire lives searching for it.

Natural Resources are precious.

Save water, Conserve Water and Protect the Environment.

You can make a difference ‪!!!

References: FLOW – For Love of Water

The post Conserve Water — Water is our Life appeared first on Environment News South Africa.