South Africa often experiences drought conditions. Recently, it was announced that within 10 to 20 years Gauteng will run out of water, and in July South Africa declared a state of disaster as its three Cape provinces are experiencing severe drought conditions. According to Agri SA, farmers from all three provinces are battling the effects of the drought, which has been described as the worst experienced in the last 100 years.
With the country receiving less annual rainfall than before together with the growing population and growing demand for water, the way we as a country interact with water daily needs to change. It won’t change the rainfall we receive, but it will make an impact on water availability when less water is wasted.
Unfortunately, drought conditions are being experienced worldwide. Water is our most precious resource, and it is up to us to help where we can. Any change, no matter how small, will have an impact.
Homes are a great source of water wastage, and by implementing a few water-saving initiatives we will be able to help preserve our water for more important uses:
Tackle leaks head-on
Look after the infrastructure in your home, and make sure that there are no leaks. This will go a long way to saving you money on your water bill while also helping to conserve water.
Also read: Top 5 Load-Shedding Solutions That Won’t Break The Bank
Be mindful in the bathroom
It’s important to remember to be mindful when you’re doing your morning and evening grooming routine in the bathroom. When washing your hands and face, and when brushing your teeth, the tap should only be turned on when the water is needed. Don’t let it run.
Take shorter showers
You can also save water in the shower. Take short showers and use a water-saving showerhead to limit the amount of water that is used for each shower. It’s easy to enjoy the warmth of a long shower, especially on a cold winter’s day, but they’re not really necessary to stay clean.
Skip the flush
There is no need to flush the toilet after every go. An ordinary toilet uses about 10 litres per flush, times that by the number of times everyone else in your household goes to the loo every day, and you’ve got a whole lot of water!
Instead, use a product like Organico to reduce flushing. Organico is an alternative odour reducing toilet flushing solution for households to use instead of freshwater every time. Available in 100g sachets or a 2,5kg bucket, its formula breaks down human waste, prevents the spread of disease and leaves toilets smelling fresh. Plus, it’s safe. Organico contains only natural enzymes, micro-organisms and bacteria that aren’t harmful to people, animals, plant life or the environment.
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Make use of greywater
Another way to reduce the water used within your home is to implement measures that allow for water to be reused in the form of greywater and rainwater harvesting:
- Greywater is water collected from your bathroom sinks, showers, baths and washing machines that do not have traces of any faecal matter. This can be used again for watering plants and even the washing of cars. Collection of greywater can be as simple as putting a bucket in the shower with you to collect any wasted water and using it in your garden. Do not keep greywater for more than 24 hours as it will begin to smell.
- Collected rainwater can be used to fill up your pool, water your garden, and even wash your pets. This water is cleaner than greywater as there is no trace of soap products and can be used as backup when dishes, windows and floors need to be washed. “One easy way to collect rainwater is to place a bucket under a gutter drainpipe, and the rainwater that would have spilled out of the pipe and onto the ground will now be collected in the bucket to be used later. You can also connect pipes to the ends of the drainpipes and have the water flow directly into your pool.
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