Thumbs up for water
A lesson in water conservation has turned the kids at Newcastle Kindergarten in Nga¯ruawa¯hia into water police.
Head teacher Tanz Podjursky said the preschoolers have been timing showers and making sure taps are off.
The presentation is part of a series of shows being presented to kindergartens across the region, as part of a campaign called Smart Water.
The joint venture between Waikato District Council, Hamilton City Council and Waipa District Council aims to change how the region uses its water.
The kids have been using what they’ve learnt to monitor water consumption in their own homes, Podjursky said.
‘‘The kids were given a fourminute timer to use in the shower and several of our mums have come back to us and said the kids are telling them to turn the timer on.
‘‘They’re running around the house making sure mum and dad are turning off taps.’’
The fact the kids were able to revisit what they’d learnt showed the presentation had been effective, Podjursky said.
‘‘It’s a really important topic and it should be presented to all kindies.’’
Smart Water Coordinator Michelle Templeton said education around water consumption is becoming significantly more important.
‘‘We are growing in population, especially in the subregions.
‘‘We are growing massively, but we still have the same amount of water available for us to use,’’ Templeton said.
‘‘We have to be careful with how we use water in the future and we may have to invest in more infrastructure.’’
In light of what’s happening in South Africa with Day Zero, Templeton said there’s even more of an urgency to be water savvy.
Cape Town is suffering from a severe water shortage and expects to run out of water on July 9.
To delay Day Zero, the government has issued several restrictions.
Beginning on February 1, each household member was asked to use only 50 litres of water a day.
Waikato households use about 250 litres of water a day, Templeton said.
‘‘When you think about it like that – it’s like wow, powerful.
‘‘Cape Town residents are recycling the water from their washing machines and using it to flush their toilets.’’
There are little changes people can make, which can make a big difference, Templeton said.
Taps with an aerator save 50 per cent of water consumption, she said.
‘‘These are easy to fit and all it does is put bubbles through the water.’’
Toilets with a dual flush also use half the amount of water, Templeton said.
The half button uses six litres
"We have to be careful with how we use water in the future and we may have to invest in more infrastructure." Michelle Templeton
of water per flush and the full button uses 12 litres per flush, she said.
‘‘For older toilets, there’s also these toilet gizmos like a weight, which weighs the flush mechanism inside the toilet down and doesn’t allow as much water to flush through.’’
Templeton also recommended timing showers.
‘‘A couple minutes less in the shower can make a huge difference, when talking about thousands of people.
‘‘We have four-minute shower timers, which are really easy to use and can stick on your shower screen.’’
Another thing to look out for is the water rating on appliances.
‘‘They’re rated on a five star system and work the same as an energy efficiency label – the more stars the better.
‘‘If you’re upgrading or replacing a washing machine or dishwasher it’s something to consider.’’ Keen gardeners could put in an irrigation system or an outdoor tap timer, Templeton said.
This way water goes directly into the roots of the plant rather than being sprayed over top, she said.
‘‘Another simple tip is fixing leaky taps ... a trickling, leaky tap wastes 388 litres a day.’’
Water is a valuable resource, Templeton said.
‘‘We expect it to come out of the tap and that’s it, but it’s so important in so many ways – it’s our survival.
‘‘I hope people in the future begin to value water more and start saving it instead of wasting it.’’