Helping elderly, infirm cope with water crisis
Evergreen’s initiatives ensure residents are prepared for Day Zero
AS “DAY Zero” is fast becoming a reality, many posts on social media are centred on concerns for the elderly and infirm who will not be able to fill containers at watering points when Cape Town’s supply is turned off and thetaps run dry.
Property development firm Amdec has taken steps to ensure that residents at its Evergreen retirement developments will be taken care of.
Cobus Bedeker, a development director, said consumption was controlled on its properties, with a focus on rain and grey water harvesting and water-wise gardens.
Bedeker said that Evergreen, to ensure that access to water did not become a problem at its five retirement villages in the Cape, had put additional measures in place to prepare for the likelihood of Day Zero, which is set for early April. Its estates, including Bergvliet, Diep River, Muizenberg and Noordhoek, would be treating borehole water to make it safe to drink.
He said bottles of fresh water would be supplied to all residents, which would come from its purification plants. Each home would be provided with a 1 000-litre slimline tank to collect rain to be used for domestic use, which would be topped up with borehole water if needed.
Bedeker said one of its latest projects was the development of Val de Vie Evergreen near Paarl, the largest retirement estate in South Africa, which went off the grid in early December.
Ryk Neethling, its marketing director, said Val de Vie was fortunate to be in a position where there will be no Day Zero.
“We have been working proactively with the Drakenstein municipality on this project, which will free up municipal water resources for the community that would normally have been channelled to the 1 500 homes on the estate.”
According to Amdec, the entire estate tapped into the water-saving features already in place, including a purification plant to utilise the underground aquifer, and moved away from relying on municipal water.
All new homes were fitted with plumbing for grey-water systems, along with general water-saving measures.
Usage on the estate, including the Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, had been reduced by 50%.
Arthur Case, the chief executive of Evergreen Retirement Holdings, said: “We have to adapt and become smarter in the way we use water. It is everyone’s responsibility to make a difference now to ensure resources for the future of South Africa.”
Neethling added that as greener, more efficient sources of energy and water continued to attract investors, buyers wanted to see sustainable features, as well as ethical and social responsibility from developers.
Bedeker added: “With the pressure on our water resource, we have for some time utilised treated effluent and borehole water during the construction phase of our projects.
“The treated effluent water is collected by the appointed contractor at local municipal water treatment plants and is safe to use for construction and irrigation purposes. In addition, we are also focused on waterless construction methodology.”
He said Evergreen was investigating water-saving building systems from the UK, the US and China for future projects.
“These building methodologies use limited water, improved quality, as most components are manufactured in factories, and reduce the construction period.
“Water-wise construction is the future of the construction industry in South Africa.”