• 2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has provided materials so that government agencies, non-governmental organizations, conservation organizations, and groups of citizens can help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.
• Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen , peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters” .
• Such definition would include rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes, wet grasslands, estuaries, deltas, mangroves, coral reefs, human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoir, and salt pans among others.

Phosphate film with Jeremy Westgarth-Taylor

• Updated: 16/01/2012 16:02:30
• Warning: Take action
• Subject: Extremely uncomfortable; Heat Wave
• Detail: Valid for 17 to 19/01/2012: Warning: 1. A heat wave with persistently high temperatures is expected over the western and southern parts until Thursday. 2. Extremely uncomfortable, humid conditions will be experienced over the western and southern interior until Thursday.

With this heat wave in mind, it will be difficult to keep your lawn from looking like this:

The alternative for using your precious municipal water to water your garden, you might consider having the Water Rhapsody’s grey water system installed, namely Garden Rhapsody. In which case the Garden Rhapsody collects all your grey water, from your baths, showers, hand basins and laundry. The grey water sprays out onto your lawn or where you’ve directed it via hosepipe to spray. Imagine the feeling of watering your garden while taking a shower….

If you harvest rainwater through the Water Rhapsody Grand Opus, you will be making use of your own rainwater in your shower, your lawn will be watered with that same water. Shouldn’t everybody be heading this way?

Have us visiting your premises for a free no-obligation quotation to install these systems.

Contact Frans @ 082 7712 062 or Ansie @ 082 851 9761

These are pictures of an actual polar bear attacking a man.

The pictures were taken while people watched and could do nothing to stop the attack!

Reports from the local newspaper say that the victim will make a full recovery.

The photos follow… not for the meek.

May your troubles always be smaller

than your imagination!

Water Rhapsody Team EC

]]> http://www.watersafe.co.za/2011/11/25/polar-bear-attack/feed/ 0 http://www.watersafe.co.za/2011/10/18/harvest-rainwater-with-jojo-tanks/ http://www.watersafe.co.za/2011/10/18/harvest-rainwater-with-jojo-tanks/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:07:33 +0000 admin http://www.watersafe.co.za/?p=1923 It’s time to start preparing to harvest rainwater at your house of business. Be ready to collect rainwater for your house, garden, your pool, laundry or for whatever need you might have for rainwater.

As Jojo Dealers and one of their listed preferred installers, Water Rhapsody is offering the 2500l for R1550 and the 5000l for R2785 (incl VAT & Delivery) until the end of October 2011.

So hurry, order your tank(s) now and we will visit you for a no-obligation quote on the installation thereof. We might be in the unfortunate position of having water restrictions again in the future, so start now becoming independent of Municipal supply.

Saving water is an excellent way to show that you care and are willing to do your little bit to help. Whether you store just a small amount to reduce your use of the municipal supply or get off the grid completely,it will be beneficial for the entire community and for future generations.

Day 22: Start a lift club.

Sharing is caring especially when it comes to transportation. When neighbours and co-workers ride together, everyone benefits.

Day 23: Read the ingredients.

Knowledge is power. Knowing what’s in the products you buy will help you understand their impact on the environment.

Day 24: Use less.

When you are able to use only what you need, you help reduce unnecessary waste. Keep a journal of your food, petrol and material consumption to better understand where you can cut back.

Day 25: Go outside.

Enjoy the great outdoors more. Plan a hike or picnic instead of languishing indoors. When you use outdoor spaces more, you use less energy to heat or cool the inside of you home.

Day 26: Go low flow.

Purchase low flow shower heads, taps and toilets to conserve water. Let Water Rhapsody install a Multi-Flush in all your toilets. The toilet will only flush as long as you hold the handle down.

Day 27: Support tree huggers.

Stay informed and involved with local and national environmental efforts. Find out how you can support greening initiatives in your area.

Day 28: Spread the word.

Share your environmental advances with friends and co-workers. When going green, it’s great to have your own support network of ‘greenies’.

Day 15: Go paperless.

With email and online invoicing, there aren’t many reasons why you shouldn’t be using less paper. Use the internet as much as possible and eliminate the need for paper waste.

Day 16: Handel with care.

Taking care of what you have is an essential part of being green. The longer you are able to use existing items, the less waste you’ll create by buying new things.

Day 17: Plant a plant.

Having house or office plants are not just aesthetically pleasing, they also help keep the air you breathe clean and fresh.

Day 18: Collect your cans.

During the first week of your green plan, you started recycling paper. Now you are ready to move up the recycling grid to cans. Contact Collect-a-Can to find your nearest collection point. Before you recycle them, make sure they are clean and dry.

Day 19: Repurpose your rubbish.

Before you throw out or give away the great items you have lying around in your home, think of creative ways to re-use your treasures. You may find that your old ladder could make an interesting shelf.

Day 20: Buy local.

Purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables reduces the amount of processing, packaging and transportation needed to get the foodfrom the farm to your table.

Day 21: Take it in or let it out.

Find someone in your neighbourhood that can alter your clothes for you when necessary. This will save you time and money that you would have spent purchasing a new wardrobe every time the numbers on the scale change.

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

The shortage of suitable freshwater resources is fast becoming a global catastrophe.

How do we know this?

In the 20th century the global population tripled and currently 220 000 people are born daily. This population growth, along with industrialisation and urbanisation, has resulted in several countries facing serious water shortages. A direct result of this is that 50% of hospital beds are occupied by sufferers of poor water related conditions.
It may seem hard to believe, but globally more people have cellular phones than access to a toilet.
And water usage in agriculture? Well, 70% of freshwater resources are allocated to agriculture. Practical usage includes:

• 25 000 ℓ of water to raise 1 kg of beef
• 4 000 ℓ to raise 1kg of chicken
• 1 120 ℓ to produce a cup of coffee
• 125 ℓ to produce a sheet of paper (please don’t print this!)

As a result of this looming water crisis, social and government agencies are looking for ways in which to limit new water allocations, reduce the usage by existing users and improve the quality of effluent water. This is all in an effort to improve the availability of clean, healthy water.

Aquaculture is expanding rapidly to supply the increasing gap between the growing world population and the decreasing availability of wild caught fish. The industry faces opposition in both the freshwater and marine environments from parties who perceive the industry to contribute to the demand for freshwater or to pollute fresh and marine waters.

However, it requires only 50ℓ to raise 1kg of fish in a RAS.
If done properly, therefore, aquaculture has enormous potential to alleviate hunger and create wealth without harming the environment.
Several ways in which this can be done include:

• Using recirculating systems to reduce water usage to a minimum.
• Effluent waste water should be used for irrigation to remove the risk of fish or associated pathogens escaping, and to utilise the nutrients in this water.
• Using feeds which are based on plant rather than fish proteins and oils.
• Using treatments that are environmentally friendly, especially those that dissociate into harmless substances.

In comparison to the amount of water required to raise other forms of animal crops, aquaculture has a vital role to play in our global water crisis as an industry that can produce a healthy form of protein with minimal water usage.

For more information on Leslie and Aquaculture Innovations, visit their website at http://www.aquaafrica.co.za/

While the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro still suffers from strict water restrictions, the Municipality has in the meantime started with the upgrading of the Nooitgedacht Low Level Scheme.
This upgrade, at a cost of R450 million, is aimed at allowing an additional 70Ml of water to be pumped into the distribution network every day.
Nooitgedacht brings water from the Gariep Dap through the Sundays River Valley to provide water for areas like Uitenhage, Despatch, Deal Party and Blue Water Bay.
According to Kupido Baron, Municipal Spokesperson, nine contracts in total will be awarded for this project, of which two have already been granted. These two contracts are the laying of pipes, which are more than 1meter in circumference. He added that the project will be fully implemented from July 1 this year and should take about 16 months to complete.
This project was part of the municipality’s long term planning, and was planned to be implemented in 2013. It was decided to start with this project as early as possible because of the ongoing drought.
-Port Elizabeth Express