Rainwater Harvesting
It is now viable to harvest rainwater for your whole household. This includes rainwater harvesting, storing and pumping rainwater for bathing, showering, toilet flushing, pool, laundry and irrigation. Rainwater harvesting together with other Water Rhapsody products can save up to 90% of your water bill.
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Tag Archives: drought disaster area
Port Alfred set to run out of Water
The Ndlambe Municipality has intervened to stave off an impending water disaster in Port Alfred by drastically reducing the pressure in supply pipes. The decision was taken at a crisis meeting of the Ndlambe council yesterday morning, guided by municipal experts who have warned there is less than a month of drinking water left for the Sunshine Coast town, at the present rate of consumption. It was implemented immediately from yesterday midday, according to Communications manager Khulukile Mbolekwa. A team was also set to compiling a business plan to present to the government to support a plea for urgent funding for a new disalination plant. The de-pressurisation measure has been implemented equally, across poor and affluent areas, in Port Alfred and adjoining Nelson Mandela Township, Mbolewa said. The town is an uneven area, with valleys and hills, and it is possible residents in the high-lying areas will be more challenged for supply. They will get water, but supply will be slow. Port Alfred has only about seven days for drinking water left from its main source, the Sarel Hayward Dam, situated in the catchment above Bathurst. Besides this there is a holding dam that is still full, and it will give us the extra days for the … Continue reading
Posted in Grey Water Recycling, Rainwater Harvesting, Water Conservation
Tagged Bathurst, Dam Levels, Desalination Plant, drought disaster area, Greywater re-use, Port Alfred, Port Elizabeth, Rainwater Harvesting, Saving water, Water Restrictions, Water shortage, Water Stress, Water tanks, Water usage
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Bitou council hopes ease Plett’s water problems
Themba Boyi | The Bitou Municipality has put out a tender for the construction of a desalination plant.The Water Affairs Department and the municipality have signed an agreement for the release of R20,000,000 to construct the plant in drought-stricken Plettenberg Bay.A similar plant opened in Sedgefield near Knysna a few months ago.The municipality’s Henry Geldenhuys said it has managed to cut water usage by 40 percent since the drought set in.He said tenders for the plant have already been advertised.“We hope to finalise the tenders by the middle of June and have the plant completed by the end of October.” - Why does it seem like desalination is the only solution munisipalities are grabbing at? At such a high cost……? Not cost effective! Rather make use of narural resources.
Interesting information re Grey Water Recycling
Grey water is the domestic or household wastewater that comes from the laundry and bathroom. When treated properly this is safe for external use. Toilet water on the other hand is termed ‘black water’ and cannot be reused. Kitchen water is technically grey water; it is treated as black water as it often contains food and grease. Water Rhapsody can help you recycle your household grey water for use on garden beds. It is an excellent way of saving water and saving money! Grey water is available every time you shower or wash with the average house creating up to 83,000 litres of grey water per year. Your grey water is suitable for irrigating most garden areas including ornamental beds and lawns. When watering native gardens remember to use a type of detergent that has low levels or has no phosphorus. Treatment before irrigation? Plants and soil, especially the upper, most biologically active layer of soil, are fantastically effective for wastewater treatment. Pretreatment is often presented as an essential element in a grey water system, when in fact it may be more pointless than treating your wastewater before sending it down the sewer. Plants and soil are fine with … Continue reading
R750-Million for Desalination Plant not available
Two weeks ago I posted the report that our Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has said that her department was forging ahead with plans to supply desalinated water to Cape Town, and furthermore extract water from the Table Mountain (TM) aquifer. This week it was reported in The Algoa Sun, that since Nelson Mandela Bay was declared a drought disaster area, very little has been done to pull the area out of the crisis. Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron says that since the declaration, the minutes of the meeting were send to the national and provincial disaster management centres. “We have received feedback from the national centre which has assessed the area and confirmed our situation,” said Baron. However, no funding has been made available to the municipality thus far. He said in the interim, funding would have to be allocated from the current municipal budget. According to Baron there are several facets of the disaster plan that have already been set in motion. They currently had four reputable companies working with the municipality to determine the environmental impact a deslination plant would have in and area.”An area close to the Swartkops power station on the Swartkops River has been identified … Continue reading
Posted in Grey Water Recycling, Rainwater Harvesting, Water Conservation, Weather
Tagged Dam Levels, drought disaster area, Eastern Cape, Greywater re-use, Port Elizabeth, Rain fall, Rainwater Harvesting, Saving water, Water Conservation, Water Restrictions, Water sources, Waterproblem
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Rain-making lasers could trigger showers on demand
Lasers that stimulate condensation may help to induce rain artificially. Zeeya Merali Make rain while the laser shines.J-P. Wolf / University of Geneva The rain dance is getting a twenty-first-century revamp using laser technology. Optical physicists have demonstrated that shooting lasers into the air can trigger the formation of water droplets, a technique that could one day help to stimulate rainfall. For more than 50 years, efforts to try to artificially induce rain have concentrated on ‘cloud seeding’ — scattering small particles of silver iodide into the air to act as ‘condensation nuclei’, or centres around which rain droplets can grow. “The problem is, it’s still not clear that cloud seeding works efficiently,” says optical physicist Jérôme Kasparian at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. “There are also worries about how safe adding silver iodide particles into the air is for the environment.” Kasparian and his colleagues realized that there might be a more environmentally friendly alternative. Firing a laser beam made up of short pulses into the air ionizes nitrogen and oxygen molecules around the beam to create a plasma, resulting in a ‘plasma channel’ of ionized molecules. These ionized molecules could act as natural condensation nuclei, Kasparian explains. … Continue reading
Plans to supply desalinated water
The article by Melanie Gosling, environmental Affairs writer refers. Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has said that her department was forging ahead with plans to supply desalinated water to Cape Town, and furthermore extract water from the Table Mountain (TM) aquifer. As mentioned in the article, all rivers in the Western Cape have been dammed, and the maximum amount of water is being extracted. There is no more water that can possibly be squeezed from our rivers. What was not said is that this water is used, polluted and largely wasted to rivers around the Western Cape with concomitant damage to riverine and marine life. The focus has always been and remains to supply more and more water. Now DWEA are looking at other ways, hence the aquifer extraction and sea water desalination. Has the Minister not been advised by scientists that by extracting fossil water from the TM aquifer, the relatively finite amount of water in the aquifer is being permanently reduced for all practical intents and purposes. This is a fossil aquifer, and has been there for millions of years. Not only would extraction permanently reduce the amount of water in the aquifer, but it … Continue reading
Nelson Mandela Bay declared a drought disaster area!
NELSON Mandela Bay was declared a drought disaster area yesterday, allowing the city to apply for R1.6-billion in emergency funding to tackle the crisis. As supply dam levels continued to fall to just 36% of capacity and warnings were sounded that Port Elizabeth’s western suburbs and inner city could run out of water by October, the council acted to pave the way for a raft of emergency measures. Included are: A desalination plant that will cost R750-million. The fast-tracking of the Nooitgedacht Dam low level scheme that will cost R650-million. It will take about 18 months and augment the supply by 100 to 120 megalitres a day. Groundwater schemes that will cost R100000. Repairs at schools and water loss detection that will require a budget of R80-million. The city was declared a local disaster area in terms of the Disaster Management Act and will be approaching the government and the provincial administration for funds.
Posted in Water Conservation
Tagged Drought, drought disaster area, Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, Rain fall, Saving water, Water shortage
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