10 WAYS TO SAVE WATER

South Africa’s water resources are under tremendous pressure from a growing population, ongoing development, pollution, wetland destruction, alien invasive plants and the effects of global warming. Here are some simple ways to save water through behavioural changes.

1 Calculate your current water use

Rand Water has developed a calculator to help individuals understand their water consumption. The calculator poses a set of questions, such as how many times a day does a person wash their hands, flush the toilet and whether they have a swimming pool. Visit the Water Wise website to find out more.

2 Draw up a plan

A Water Wise report generated from this data will show where most of the water is used. If it’s in the shower, reduce showering time. Plan on how much water can be saved. The Water Wise website has a lot of great information on saving water and reducing consumption.

3 Read water meters

Learn how to read a water meter to see how much water is consumed daily, weekly and monthly. More importantly, a water meter is a great way of detecting if there are water leaks.

4 Make small stickers or posters

Remember that some habits are hard to change. Make interesting posters to display around as a reminder. This is a fun activity one can do with children.

5 Watering the garden rainy seasons. There is no need to water a garden if there has been enough rainfall.

Time of day is very important when it comes to watering a garden. The earlier, the better. Try to water the garden in the morning before 07h00 or in the afternoon after 18h00. Only water when plants show signs of needing water.

8 Harvest

Rainwater

This can be as simple as putting a bucket outside when it rains, or installing a rain tank and directing water from the gutters into the tank. This method can also reduce the water bill.

9 Hydrozone

Grouping plants according to their watering needs saves water and money. Divide the garden into high, medium, low and very low water zones. Then water accordingly.

10 Mulch

Mulching a garden saves water, protects plant roots and prevents weeds. Mulch helps with retaining soil moisture, making it easy to maintain a garden and reduce the amount of water needed.

6 Use greywater

Reusing greywater in the garden is another great way of saving water. Make sure that the greywater is suitable for the types of plants you have in the garden. Visit the Water Wise website for more information.

7 Install a rain gauge

This is a simple way of measuring how much water is needed for a garden during

The amount of water available for use remains the same, and despite plans to increase storage capacity through the building of new dams or water transfer schemes, predictions are that the demand for water will outstrip supply by 2025. Be Water Wise.