GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Thursday, 22 March, was World Water Day.
Water is essential to all life and it can no longer be taken for granted that there will always be water when we open our taps.
Without giving much thought to the essential uses of water, individuals go about their daily business: using the toilet, brushing teeth, washing bodies, clothes and dishes, cooking, drinking, wiping down dirty surfaces, taking supplements/pills, washing hands, driving a car that requires water, and much more. These are some of the common things we do on a daily basis that require the use of water.
Yet, there are also numerous businesses, as well as organisations such as hospitals, that simply cannot operate without water.
What if one morning we got up, and as usual, turned on our taps to go about our daily business, but not a drop came out? This is not a far-fetched fantasy. It is a real possibility.
If our fresh water supply dries up, life would be disastrous for individuals, businesses and other organisations alike. Try and imagine one day without water, then two, then a week, then two weeks, then a month, or even longer.
Sanitation systems would clog up, things would remain dirty, vehicles using water would not be able to operate, hospitals and many businesses would have to close their doors, diseases such as Bilharzia and Cholera would be rampant and illness would increase substantially.
This is not just the Municipality’s problem - this is everyone’s problem! What can we do to help?
Action is two-fold: Firstly, do not pollute freshwater reserves (rivers, dams, lakes and groundwater) and secondly, treat water as if it cost R100 per litre. That means use it super sparingly with respect and thought.
Here are a few tips how we can be water wise at home:
• Wrap your geyser and pipes in insulation to keep the water hot - less is wasted while you wait for the hot water to come out
• Flush the toilet only when necessary and lift the handle for a shorter water-saving flush
• Place a 1 or 2-litre bottle of sand in your toilet cistern so that your cistern will operate with less water and don’t use the toilet as a rubbish bin
• Don’t leave taps running while washing – put water in the basin and use it to wash
• Ensure there are no taps that are leaking or dripping
• Shower rather than bath. Use water-saving showerheads and switch off the water while soaping your body or hair
• Collect all used household water and use it in the garden
• Rinse things in a bowl of water, not under a running tap
• Only put as much water in the kettle as you need
• Use your dishwasher and washing machine only when it is fully loaded
• Use a bucket of water when cleaning the car
• Use mulch on the soil around plants to keep the ground moist
• If you don’t already have one, install a water tank or two to capture rainwater from your roof
• Remove exotic/invasive plants as they generally use more water than indigenous ones - plant a water-wise garden
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