Cape drought: save water now!
As the Western Cape is gripped by a water crisis here’s how you can save this precious resource
CALLING a politician greasy has always been an insult – but as far as Helen Zille is concerned, it’s a badge of honour these days. Gone are the days when her blonde bob was always freshly shampooed and perfectly coiffed: the Western Cape premier is showering only every third day now, “with visibly negative consequences” for her hair.
What’s more, on the days she does step into the shower stall she spends only a few moments under the jet of precious water, she says. “And for the rest, I wash in the hand basin,” the former DA leader wrote in an online column recently – a statement that made international news. “I used to wash my hair every day but now only when I shower.”
She sometimes has “hygienic and aesthetic” concerns, she quips. “However‚ I regard oily hair in a drought to be as much a status symbol as a dusty car.”
Zille feels everyone who lives in and visits the Western Cape should be do- ing the same because the drought is dire enough to resort to drastic measures.
Western Cape dam levels stood at an average of 36% by the end of September compared to 62% the previous year – and considering 10% of this water is considered unusable, things are serious indeed.
At this rate, Day Zero – the day taps finally run dry – could be upon the Western Cape as early as January if people keep ignoring water-saving measures.
With a harsh summer looming the situation is bleak and every drop, as Western Cape residents are frequently told, is as precious as gold.
So what can residents – and the visitors who flock to the province – do to radically reduce water usage and help stave off the dreaded Day Zero?
TO SHOWER OR NOT TO SHOWER
Do you really need to shower every day, or is Zille right in saying we need only a brief shower every third day?
“In our climate – depending on whether it’s winter or summer – it’s acceptable to go a day or two (or even three, in winter) between bathing,” says Dr Suretha Kan- nenberg, a Cape Town dermatologist.
“It is however still necessary to wash your groin area and private parts, as well as under your arms and in between skin folds with a light soap replacement product or a pH-balanced soap and a small volume of lukewarm water.
“That’s more than enough as far as daily personal hygiene is concerned.” In fact, the microbiome of the skin – antibiotics, fungi and viruses that live on our skin – can be disrupted when we wash too often with too strong chemicals, Kannenberg adds. Showering every day, especially under hot water, can also dry skin out and cause ageing. This is especially discouraged for those prone to skin conditions such as eczema.
And what about waterless products such as gels, powders and dry shampoos – can these be safely used too?
“Most waterless cleaning products are not a problem for the general population,” Kannenberg says. “But for people with sensitive skin they can lead to a flare-up of underlying conditions. But they should be fine for hands and feet.
“Powders can cause problems for people with respiratory issues, but other than that they aren’t a problem. Dry shampoo can cause allergic reactions.”
But people without issues should be fine. Water may be essential for life but it’s not a necessity when it comes to hygiene.
‘It’s acceptable to go a day or two between bathing’
We asked academic and municipal experts for top tips and advice.
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Despite the predictions of doom and gloom, certain households in the Western Cape are still reluctant to change their casual attitude to water usage.
Cape Town residents have been instructed to use 87 litres of water per person per day – far below the international average of 173 litres. But according to the City of Cape Town, by the end of September the metro still exceeded its target of 500 million litres a day by a staggering 122 million litres.
“Residents, businesses and other partners must start adapting to the new normal of a water-scarce city and province,” says Xanthea Limberg, the city’s mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services.
Next year is going to be a tough one for the Western Cape, says Dr Kevin Winter of the University of Cape Town’s department of environmental and geographical science. Below average rainfall for the third year running means dam levels are way lower than they should be and “the best way to start saving is to know how much water you’re using in the first place,” he says.
“It constantly amazes me that people are investing in new devices and rain tanks without first understanding how much water they’re using in the home.
“In addition, once they’ve installed rain-water tanks, for instance, they don’t really know how they’re going to use that water other than it’s nice to have 5 000 litres stored – the ‘comfort factor’.”
“Know the numbers,” Winter advises, “Then it’s easier to work out a plan.”
“Most water inside the home is used in toilet flushing and showering or bathing. Reusing grey water from the shower or bath to flush the toilet makes sense, but should be done with care to avoid possible spreading of germs if it spills a little, especially if there are young children who might come into contact with the grey water.
“So, reduce and reuse first – these are the two Rs [of a drought]. Then comes drought-proofing, where people might want to invest in alternative water sources such as rain-water harvesting, household grey water systems, etc.”
LEAKS ARE THE ENEMY
Halt water usage on your property by closing all the taps and making sure nobody flushes a toilet. Now take a reading on your water metre.
Wait 15 minutes and take another reading. If there’s a difference between the two readings, you probably have a leak. (If you have an analogue meter, you can also check if the little wheel is still turning while you’ve stopped water usage on the property.)
Leaks can include anything from taps with worn washers to leaking toilets (when the valve between the cistern and the bowl isn’t closing properly) to underground pipes on your property.
Toilets are regular culprits when it comes to leaks – the City of Cape Town says between 2 600 and 13 000 litres a month can be lost because of a faulty valve.
Leaking or burst underground pipes on your property could ruin you financially as you’re responsible for the cost of the lost water.
STOPCOCK: ALL-IN-ONE SAVING MECHANISM
There are several gadgets you can attach to taps, showers and pipes to limit water usage.
These range from aerated or low-flow showerheads to tap aerators that restrict water flow without lowering the pressure by introducing air in the water.
Then there are flow controllers that are mounted between shower arm and head to limit flow to a certain number of litres a minute.
One of the easiest ways is simply to use the stopcock that regulates water to your property. You’ll find this at the water mains.
Follow these steps: close the stopcock and then open it by half a turn. Find the tap on your property that’s furthest from the stopcock (it could be inside the home or in the backyard), open the cold water tap at that point and assess the water pressure. You can open the stopcock further (half a turn at a time) until the flow from the furthest tap is just enough.
IN THE BATHROOM
Buy a low-flow showerhead, which can cost as little as R150. These devices let through as little as six litres a minute compared to standard showerheads’ 16 litres a minute. You can test your existing showerhead by holding a 1 litre jug under the running shower and measuring how long it takes to fill. Ideally, it should take 10 seconds or more. Shower for only two minutes at a time. Catch your shower, bath and basin water and use it to flush the toilet, water the garden or wash your car. A glass or mug full of water is enough to brush your teeth or shave with, instead of letting the tap run. Wash in a basin rather than running a bath. But if you have to bath every now and again, don’t fill the tub with mo r e than 10cm of water – you can mark it with tape to ensure no one exceeds that limit. And keep the water to water the plants, for instance.
THE TERRIBLE TOILET
City officials always emphasise how much water can be saved by flushing
less. If you have a cistern, put a twolitre bottle filled with sand or a brick in it so the cistern doesn’t fill completely with water each time you flush. Flush less. Add a few drops of bleach to the bowl or drop a dispenser with antiseptic in the cistern to take care of smell issues. Automatic shut-off flush valves can be installed to ensure effective flushing with minimum water. These usually have two setting: one for the flow rate and another for flushing time. A toilet shouldn’t flush for longer than 6 to 8 seconds – but some take twice as long. To check for toilet leaks because of a faulty valve (as these can waste as much as three baths of water a day), add a few drops of food colouring to the cistern and see if it shows up in the toilet bowl. Alternatively, you can put toilet paper on the inside of the bowl (above the water line) and see if it gets wet.
LOADS OF LAUNDRY
Shower water can be caught in buckets to later soak very dirty clothes in before washing them.
Don’t use your machine unless you have a full load of washing.
Laundromats such as Green Planet Laundry offer affordable laundry services using purified borehole water, and typically also purify and reuse as much as half their grey water.
KITCHEN CLEVER S
Use one glass or mug throughout the day so there are fewer dirty dishes.
Reuse water from steamed or cooked food in a nutritious soup. Use pots that are the right size for the dish you want to cook and use as little water as possible – it also helps the food retain nutrients.
IN THE GARDEN S
Everyone on your property must know where the stopcock is – it could save hundreds of litres of water if a pipe bursts. Catch water from the gutters and use if for your garden, swimming pool and for washing cars. The City of Cape Town has guidelines for a grey water system (which reuses bathroom and kitchen water that normally goes down the drain): you need a purification system if you want to store grey water, as bacteria flourishes in untreated, standing grey water; don’t use grey water on the edible parts of plants in