MEET A WATER-SAVING SUPERHERO

ACape Town hotel has enlisted a charming superhero to join in the fight to save the city’s water. Formerly called Aquaduck, the little fellow was this week rechristened P2C, but his mission remains the same: to encourage guests to use as little potable water as possible from his home base at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands. On the slopes of Table Mountain, the 120-year-old Vineyard is part of the Petousis Family Hotel Group, which appointed a water-crisis committee over a year ago to help reduce water usage at its three Cape Town properties.

The initiatives they came up with include the removal of in-room bath plugs to encourage guests to shower instead.

That pioneering move is by now being made by most Cape Town hotels.

At the Vineyard, however, instead of simply no plug in the bath, and no H2O, guests will find P2C, bearing information on the drought and the ways in which guests can contribute to the “choose not to use” drive.

As the hotel’s spokesperson Alison McKie explains, P2C is “a friendly means of delivering a very serious message”.

Those who still wish to bath can head off to reception with their little yellow friend (discreetly smuggled in a handbag, we’d imagine) — and swap him for a plug.

The hotel, which began as a country cottage built by Lady Anne Barnard in 1799. has a long, proud history of green initiatives.

Some of its other water-saving missions include shower timers, aerated taps and showerheads, covers on the swimming pools during lunch to limit evaporation, and movement-activated taps in public areas.

To reduce the laundry load, they are using paper towels instead of hand towels in public toilets and providing hand sanitiser. In the dining room, there are recyclable paper napkins and the tablecloths are gone.

For the same reason, perhaps, tiny hero though he is, P2C wears no cape.

● vineyard.co.za