Water Wise Watch - December 2022
01.12.22
The Festive Season is upon us, a time where we get to reunite with our families, kick-back and unwind, as well as a chance to explore our goals for the year that follows. At Water Wise, we would like to wish you a happy festive season, filled with many memories under the sun. Be sure to stay safe and don't forget to be Water Wise!
Wildlife Conservation Day 2022
What is Wildlife Conservation Day?
From the plains of the Serengeti, to the polar artic regions; the mountains of the Congo, through to the deepest trenches of the Pacific, these landscapes are teeming with life, all of which is important in sustaining natural ecosystems. Wildlife conservation is thus important, particularly in a time where human influence on the planet has led to shift to habitats, leaving many animals without habitats, shelter, or food.
Why is it celebrated?
Every year on 4 December, Wildlife Conservation Day is celebrated to spread awareness on Earth’s endangered flora and fauna, and how we can conserve and sustain them, particularly during this time of climate change. Anthropogenic interference in the world’s natural ecosystems has been occurring for centuries on end, with humans exploiting resources for food production, shelter, and energy generation.
Wildlife Conservation Day also aims at educating people on the protection of wildlife from illegal trade, outlining the importance of indigenous species and the control of invasive species. Importantly, World Wildlife Day offers decision-makers an opportunity to understand the role that flora and fauna plays in economies, through tourism and in food and energy production. Imagine a world without bees - would you only be out of honey, or would you also run out of food?
How can you play your part?
Fortunately, each individual can pledge towards the protection and conservation of Earth's precious flora and fauna; an act that can go a long way towards the avoidance of the next mass extinction. Some of the ways are:
- Plant indigenous plants and trees in your garden and local landscapes
- Control or remove invasive and exotic species
- Report illegal wildlife trade and poaching
- Choose environmentally sourced products
- Go paperless and plastic-free
- Protect the environment around you.
Zuurbekom Pumphouse - Rand Water
What is World Toilet Day?
Every year on November 19, the world observes World Toilet Day. This day is celebrated internationally and is solely dedicated to raising global awareness about the critical role of toilets in the global sanitation crisis, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030.
As a pledge towards the achievement of SDG no. 6, Water Wise commemorated World Toilet Day with Rand Water employees at Zuurbekoom Pumphouse on 18 November 2022. The event consisted of employees from various Rand Water sites, including Lebanon, Rustenburg, Waterval, Krugersdorp, and Zuurbekom. The event outlined the importance of sanitation towards a healthy community and the role that Rand Water, as a bulk water supplier, can play towards water conservation and future sustainability.
What was done?
Fun interactive games were setup to gauge the participants' understanding of the day and the role that each individual can play towards the achievement of goal 6 of the SDGs. One such game is the "Privilege Game" where participants choose a character and based on the living conditions of that character, progress through a set of questions. At the end, it outlines how our backgrounds play an important role towards the health of our communities and ourselves alike.
What was the take-home message from this event?
- Invest in water-saving toilets such as dual-flush toilet systems.
- Alternatively, modify existing toilets by adding a water displacement device (e.g. a brick or 2L plastic bottle)
- Check for leaks regularly in the toilet by checking the plumbing, as well as by the addition of a dye to the toilet cistern to gauge whether any "invisible' leaks to the bowl occur.
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Sources
Department of Water & Sanitation
United Nations
Water & Your Garden
'Tis the season for sun and rain
The season is here where we can go out and enjoy nature - the sun is out, bright, and warm! Our gardens are blooming, flowers colourful and beautiful, but at what price do we keep them flowering throughout this season? Higher temperatures mean higher rates of transpiration in the garden, in turn resulting in higher loss from your plants; to keep these beautiful and green, we need to water more often.
Watering - Over versus Under?
Water plays an important role in the sustenance of a beautiful garden. Proper watering ensures the soil is kept moist and the roots adequately receive water; an important variable for the growth of a plant. However, improper watering due to a hotter season can result in over-watering and/or under-watering. In turn, this can negatively affect plant growth and the subsequent appearance of your garden.
What can you do to maintain your garden?
- Water in the morning before 10h00 and in the evening after 18h00, when its cooler, to reduce the amount of evaporation from the soil. However, take note of local water restrictions - some municipalities restrict any watering between 06h00 and 18h00.
- Use the news or the South African Weather Services website and social media pages to monitor rainfall patterns to know when to water and when not to water.
- Alternatively, setup a rain gauge in your garden to track soil moisture in your garden, so you know exactly when your garden needs water.
- Hydrozone your garden, in other words, plant plants with similar water use requirements together to ensure optimal watering.
- Lastly, check for soil moisture in the garden by doing a ribbon test* - "If it's not cracked, step back".
Sources
Water Wise
Lifestyle - Home & Garden
Water restrictions
How can we alleviate the situation?
You wake up, yearning for a fresh cup of coffee to start your day, only to turn on the tap and find no water to fill the kettle. This is a reality we could soon face, across the country, consequently of high water consumption, particularly in our ever-growing urban areas. Following the recent water restrictions in Gauteng, the importance of water in our daily lives was highlighted, as this not only affected households but industries and businesses alike.
But what are water restrictions?
Water restrictions refer to any constraints or restrictions that are placed on water resources and their subsequent use by an infrastructure operator, local council or State Government. These seek to alleviate high water usage in a given area over a certain period, to ensure water availability. Commonly, the pressure of the water available to consumers is reduced, under varying levels; these include level 1 where bulk water pressure is reduced by 15%; level 2 where it is reduced by 30% and so forth.
What are the implications of water restrictions?
Water resources are important to society, as we depend on them for agriculture (i.e. food production), energy production (i.e. electricity), domestic use (i.e. household activities), and for recreational activities, amongst others. Many of these uses put pressure on water resources; stresses that are likely to be exacerbated by the extent of climate change, water pollution, urbanisation, and overpopulation. In essence, higher water demands will increase the extent and prevalence of water restrictions.
How can we each pledge to reduce our water demand?
Bulk water distribution to municipalities, and then to the end user, is pressure maintained, where reduced pressure in turn affects the way the water comes out of our taps. During higher levels of water restrictions, the pressure will be greatly lowered, causing water to “trickle” from our taps. Fortunately, we can all play a role towards saving water by reducing the amount of water we use in the garden, taking shorter showers, only washing when there is a full load, harvesting rainwater, and using greywater in the household.
Sources
Johannesburg Water
Daily Maverick
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04 December: Wildlife Conservation Day 05 December: World Soil Day 11 December: International Mountain Day |
| TotalEnergies plans oil exploration off South Africa's West Coast " ... TotalEnergies is planning to explore for oil offshore South Africa’s West Coast, where environmental groups have increasingly opposed such activity ... which could result in an additional nine wells depending on the success of the first, SLR Consulting Ltd ..." |
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| South African fines for polluting ships hiked by 2000% in new proposed law "... Polluting ships could see fines climb nearly 2 000% to R10 million, according to proposed amendments for a bill to prevent maritime pollution ..." |
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| South Africa's environmental crimes shoot up by 7% "... The Department of Environmental Affairs says there's been a 7.6% increase in recorded environmental crimes over the past financial period of 2020/21 ..." |
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