Category Archives: safe water

Metro Water not safe!

The following information illustrates one of the reasons why Water Rhapsody strives to make the public aware of the importance of making oneself independent from Municipal water supply. The information came from an article in The Herald 06 September 2011: According to tests made by Pathcare Laboratory at St. George’s, water in certain areas of the Bay is not safe to drink. This is caused by the lack of free-chlorine, which is meant to kill harmful contaminants in the water, therefore making the water an ideal breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Tests carried out for The Herald by Pathcare Laboratories have revealed that water samples from Livingstone Hospital contain traces of the potentially deadly E.coli bacteria ( Fecal Coliform/E coli: Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, and people with severely compromised immune systems.) Water from the Korsten area contains unacceptable high amount of coli form bacteria, which indicate the presence of either human or animal faeces … Continue reading

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Go Green in 4 Weeks!

Week 2 Day 8: Collect it. Set large containers outside to collect rainwater.  (Purchase Jojo tanks from Water Rhapsody and let us install it for you!) This water can be used to hydrate your garden plants and be used to wash outdoor furniture, wash your car etc. Day 9: Share it. If you prepare more food for supper than you can consume, feel free to share it or have it for lunch the next day. Sharing meals keeps great food in tummies and out of landfills. Day 10: Donate it. Instead of throwing away old clothes, electronics or home wares, donate them to your local charity organisation or church. Of you k for a receipt, you can count the deduction when you do your income tax. Day 11: Return it. Buying biodegradable items means that when you throw it away, it will decompose. The decomposition process returns materials back to the earth. Day 12: Fix it. If you have a pair of pants that are in need of then loving care, try mending them before getting rid of them. Most dry cleaners have tailors onsite. It will be much cheaper to repair them than to replace them. Day 13: Switch … Continue reading

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Kouga Dam Yesterday

Morning ! Just want to share this beautiful picture of Kouga Dam with you from yesterday, what a amazing site !!! Regards Victor It truly is! Thank you for sharing this with us Victor. -Water Rhapsody Eastern Cape

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Restrictions remain for Metro

Despite calls from businesses and residents to drop restrictions, the municipality would not say  when water restrictions would be dropped or eased. “We have not yet received any official notification from Water Affairs explaining when it will lift its restrictions,” spokesperson Kupido Baron said yesterday. Eastern Cape Water Affairs spokesperson Mandilakhe Zenzile said the department’s amended restrictions on the Bay’s water consumption were about to be gazetted and simply needed the signature of director-general Trevor Balzer. Senior water officials said 2 days ago that although the Water Affairs Department was still in process of handling proposals which would allow the Bay to use 100% of its quota from the Kouga Dam, the city could draw “as much as it likes” while the Loerie Dam overflowed.

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Domestic Water Consumption

 These graphs is an indication of the average persentage of water used domestically. Even though a person can not live without water, drinking water takes up only 1-2% of our total water consumption. A bath 120-200l per use, a shower 60-80l, washing mashine 70-120l, and toilet flushing 6-12l. Even though we can save on the amount of water we use daily, for example showering only 5 minutes instead of 10 minutes, we will still need our water for these daily routines and necessities. Therefor, by only installing the Water Rhapsody Garden Rhapsody and Multi-Flush, you will re-use your grey water to irrigate your garden, and you will use much less water needed to flush your toilets with. See Graph below for percentage savings. Contact us for quotations on installing these systems.  

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How to make your Harvested Rainwater pay for itself.

After some frequent rain in the Eastern Cape the water tanks are all filled to the brim; yet not enough rain has fallen to fill up our dams and alleviate the water restrictions. What to do with all that water then? Your garden doesn’t need any water now and your swimming pool is probably full and not being used as frequently in this icy weather. Why not let your rainwater harvesting system pay for itself? By using your harvested rain water instead of municipal water, you not only save money on your water bill but also on your sewerage costs. Municipalities charge for sewerage based only on the volume (number of kilolitres) of water that you consume. You are charged for the amount of water that has run through the water meter and the same goes for your sewerage charge. If less water runs through your meter and rather from your full water tank, the lower your water AND sewerage charge will be. What to do with all that rainwater in your tank? • Pump it through your whole household • Toilet flushing • Laundry washing machine The installation can be as simple as a pump connected to the tank … Continue reading

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I will die for water

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Water a commodity or a resource?

This is all about water, the stuff we drink, wash in, use it as a medium to carry away our urine and fecal matter, and irrigate our gardens.  Furthermore industry and commerce use evaporation of water for cooling in air conditioning plants, and a whole host of other uses. When referring to water do we know the difference between water as a commodity and resource?

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Sinking Solutions for Mining Water Pollution

Sinking Solutions for Mining Water Pollution in South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. It faces the looming threat of toxic water spewing out of idle mines as early as next year, unless government steps in to prevent an “environmental disaster”, Terence McCarthy, professor of geology at the University of Witwatersrand”. In a report entitled “The decanting of acid mine drainage in the Gauteng city-region”, McCarthy said government should bear the costs of dealing with the acid mine drainage (AMD) problem – the toxic water trapped in the mine void in the Witwatersrand, which stretches from Roodepoort to Boksburg. Most mines in this region are no longer operational. AMD occurs due to the outflow of acidic and heavy metals-laden water from Witwatersrand-based mines, which threatens to pollute surface and ground water. According to his findings, McCarthy said in 2011, possibly 2012, AMD will seep up through the main shaft at Gold Reef City, and this underground facility will be forced to shut down. Boksburg, he warned, could see acid mine drainage rising up through drainage points, spewing toxic filth into the town.

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Hydraulic Fracturing planning in the Karoo

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, has been used since the 1950s to stimulate oil and gas wells. The process involves pumping a sand-laden slurry into a well and subjecting it to enough pressure that the rocks in the productive formation fracture, or break. The purpose of the sand is to prop open the fracture, so it stays in place. The carrying fluid can then flow back out of the well, along with oil and gas if it’s been a successful frac. The technique of hydraulic fracturing is used to increase or restore the rate at which fluids, such as oil, gas or water, can be produced from a reservoir, including unconventional reservoirs such as shale rock or coal beds. Hydraulic fracturing enables the production of natural gas and oil from rock formations deep below the earth’s surface (generally 5,000-20,000 feet or 1,500-6,100 m). At such depth, there may not be sufficient porosity and permeability to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the rock into the wellbore at economic rates. For example, creating conductive fractures in the rock is essential to produce gas from shale reservoirs because of the extremely low natural permeability of shale. The fracture provides a conductive path connecting a larger area of the … Continue reading

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