Stellies festival gets proactive

STELLENBOSCH University’s Woordfees has gone water-savvy.

The university has urged festival-goers who come by car from outside the drought-stricken area to bring along two five-litre water bottles.

“When planning the 2018 Woordfees (Wordfest), two issues became immediately clear: first, Stellenbosch cannot host a festival that exacerbates the district’s water crisis; and, second, the town cannot afford to cancel the festival – the economic impact would be extensive,” the university said.

The Woordfees provides work for more than 600 people during the festival; this excludes the performing musicians and artists.

In order to alleviate the pressure on the water supply, the Woordfees, in partnership with Stellenbosch University, has instituted the following water-saving measures:

Waterless chemical toilets will be supplied at all venues;

Municipal toilets will only be available in case of emergencies;

Water to taps in public bathrooms will be shut off and waterless hand sanitisers will be made available;

The few available emergency taps will be fitted with eco-nozzles which regulate the water pressure and decreases the water flow by seven times normal;

As far as possible, no ice will be used to cool liquor;

No water ballasts will be used to anchor festival tents;

The janitorial staff will collect all half-used bottles of water left behind at the festival site and ensure that this water is used in the festival grey water systems;

Buckets will be available in the venues where showers are available.

The university supports the festival’s water-saving plan and has provided financial backing for the switch to chemical toilets: “The university is also providing borehole water that will be filtered and bottled. These bottles will be sold to festival-goers and can be filled at no extra cost at selected water points in the central festival area.”

The Woordfees has asked all guest houses and hotels providing festival accommodation to:

Remove plugs from and cut the water supply to baths;

Provide waterless sanitisers for guests;

Provide buckets for use in showers. Festival-goers are requested to:

Bring along enough clothing for their entire stay, so that laundry needs are minimised;

Bring their own towels with them and to return home with them without laundering them at the festival;

Use the waterless hand sanitisers sold on the festival grounds.

The festival will start today and runs until March 11. – Staff Reporter

‘THE UNIVERSITY WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING BOREHOLE WATER’