• 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

“Every backwash of two to three minutes will use between 200 and 900 litres of water”

Stop throwing your pool backwash water away! It is illegal to pump this water to the street and environmentally most unfriendly. Owning a swimming pool means having to waste up to 500 litres of backwash water per week on cleaning the filtration system.

Our Water Rhapsody Poolside Tank system receives the water normally thrown away from a pool’s filter backwash process. The system processes this dirty water and within 24 hours the water can be safely returned to the pool. Should you wish, we can connect the system in such a way that you would still be able to empty your pool for whatever reason you might need to.

Other ways to use less water for your swimming pool:

• Use a pool cover.  It will reduce water loss due to normal evaporation, which can be as high as 25mm a week or as much as 1000 litres from larger pools.
• Repair any swimming pool leaks. Even a small leak in either pool equipment or the pool’s structure represents a substantial amount of water waste.
• If heated, reduce your pool and spa water temperature. Warmer water evaporates more quickly
• Keep the pool water in the pool. If your pool has an overflow hole or pipe, plug it whenever people are swimming. This will prevent water loss through the line when the pool is in use.
• Maintain the chemical balance in your pool. This will help prevent algae bloom which may need to be vacuumed or backwashed which will waste water (unless you have installed the Water Rhapsody Poolside Tank). Correct control of salt levels will also save you money and prevent over salination which may influence your ability to recycle that water, at the same time adding unnecessary salt to environmental water.
• If your pool has a water feature or waterfall, ensure that this remains shut off while no-one is around to appreciate it as these invariably cause considerable additional evaporation and chemical losses. It may pay to have a shut-off valve fitted if you do not already have one.
• Discourage excessive splashing and boisterous play. The more water lost to splashing, the more frequently you will need to refill or top up the water in your pool.
• When you are filling your pool, be sure to keep an eye on your water level. Forgetting to shut off fill water can make for a costly waste of water.

Contact Water Rhapsody for more information on the Poolside Tank, or for a no-obligation quote to have it installed.

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.

Have a look at our demonstration model below:

On the left side is a normal 9l cistern after a normal pull of the handle, using all water in the cistern to the bottom.
On the right side is the same size toilet, retrofitted with the Water Rhapsody Multi-Flush. The toilet was flushed once for as long as it was needed. On the 9l toilet, this toilet could be flushed 4 times until the cistern was as empty as the one on the left.

This should explain enough for itself. Imagine having your tanks filled after the good rains, with precious rain water. You would not want all that water to go down the drain in a few days, would you? Consider having your toilets installed with the Water Rhapsody Multi-Flush. You wouldn’t loose anything by doing so……except all your sh**!

where more stringent water restrictions will be imposed .

Major Storage Dams supplying the Metro

Dam                  Capacity              Volume of water

Kouga                  37,5%                 48 217 Ml

Churchill              30,9%                 11 002

Impofu                19,0%                 18 658

Loerie                 37,8%                   1 482

Groendal             67,2%                   7 826

Total                                                87 185 Ml

Average daily consumption for the period 19 April to 30 April 2011 was 238 Ml

Average daily consumption for April was 245 Ml

Our target is to remain under 250 Ml per day

Make use of Water Rhapsody’s unique water conservation systems to minimize your daily consumption. Have a look at our systems on the Product Demonstration Page. Contact us for more information or a quotation.

But in this time of drought when green citizens are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, water tanks have once again become a household fixture – and for more than just environmental reasons. A water tank is good for the environment, yes, but is also good for your lifestyle and your hip pocket. Here are some good reasons to install a water tank at your home or business:

1. Save water

Water shortages resulting from the drought have made it more important than ever to conserve the water we have. South Africa receives from the least rainfall of all inhabited continents and water is the most valuable resource we have – we need it to live!

2. Keep town drinking water for drinking

Instead of wasting fresh drinkable water on the garden, to wash the car or flush the toilet, installing a tank means less precious drinking water will be lost through activities such as these, and more will be available for us to drink.

3. Beat water restrictions

Water restrictions have been imposed across South Africa, limiting the amount of water used for non-essential activities. A water tank will give you the freedom to use your own collected water without having to tap into the town supply. This means you can choose to use your water for a greener lawn, cleaner car or to fill up the swimming pool when it’s hot.

4. Save money in the future

Once the initial expense of the water tank has been borne, you can save money on all future water bills. As our population grows and water becomes scarcer, it is probable that the cost of water will rise, so you can be protected from these costs by collecting your own water.

5. Collect your own drinking water

If you’re worried about chemicals added to the town water supply, a water tank could be the solution for you. Forget about buying expensive bottled water, you can collect your own fresh water for drinking purposes in a tank.

6. Make a statement

Modern water tanks come in a variety of colours, styles, sizes and materials to suit you.

Instant panic! Immediate thoughts would turn to your family and home. The taps would open, but nothing would come out, there may be a little water left in your kettle, and some in your geyser. Then you may hear the news that the city will be out of water for a month. More panic, but what to do about it.

First things first. You need water to drink. You race off to the shops, only to find a long queue, patiently and some not so patiently waiting to buy bottled water. You may be among the lucky ones that get in first. I once saw people in a holiday town, fight at the Spar for a limited number of Bread Rolls that were becoming available. Imagine if the scarce resource were water!

Then you would think of a longer term plan. Get a water tank. Quickly! So you could harvest any coming rain off your roof. But think about this. There are only about 140,000 water tanks made each year in South Africa. And we have a population of about 50 million. So there would be a mad scramble for water tanks until they were sold out.

Isn’t it just more sensible to buy a water tank, get it installed by Water Rhapsody with the necessary filters, so that in the unlikely event of your town running dry, for whatever reason… you and your family will have some degree of protection? Contact us to get a quote to install a water tank now and protect your most important assets, your family.

Posted by Water Rhapsody

The Size: This is by far the most common question. The size of the tank will depend on your requirements. If you plan to use the water on your garden, you will only need a smaller tank. A larger tank will be required of you plan on using the water inside your home. Water tanks can store as little as a thousand litres of water and as much as 20 000 litre or more.

The Design: The design of the tank will depend on the situation and also your requirements. Tanks come in many shapes and sizes, so there is one to suit almost every home.

Space: The amount of space that you have either beneath you home  (designed into your newly build house), or in your back garden will also dictate the type of water tank that you can install. If you are space poor, there are new slim line designs that are made to fit snugly alongside the house (a bit more expensive though!).

Roof area: The amount of roof area that you have will determine how much water you are able to fill the tank with. There is no point in buying a large tank if the roof simply isn’t big enough to capture enough water to fill it.

The Pump: You will need to get the water out from the tank somehow, and you will need to decide of you want a pump-based system or a gravity-fed system. If the water is going uphill or along the ground at any point, you will require a pump. The size of the pump will be dependent on the amount of water moved and also the amount of pressure required. Of you have an elevated tank, a gravity-fed system may be adequate on its own if you are not to use the water in-house. But you will need to refer to a professional to ensure that you get  the best possible results.

 - When we visit your premises to do a free quotation, we will have a look at the size of your roof area, what you want to do  with the harvested rainwater, how many people in the house and the space available for the tanks. We will give advice and recommendations depending on your needs and how you want to utilise your water. Contact us at Water Rhapsody, even though you only have a few questions, we will assist you as far as possible.

Groundwater, which is the  water that remains under the ground and is tapped into to provide drinking water for homes is generally polluted by the activities that occur just above it. People are the number one cause of groundwater pollution. Having water samples tested regularly is the only way to be sure that the groundwater is not contaminated. Unfortunately, there are a multitude of potentiol groundwater pollutants that can seriously contaminate drinking water. Most ground water  pollution happens because of improper disposal, use or stotage  of chemicals, pesticides, or substances like car engine oil.

Deicing salts that are used for clearing driveways and pathways can contaminate groundwater. Landfills have been known to cause toxic runoff that infiltrated the groundwaters supply and underground tanks for storing gasoline and diesel for petrol stations can develop minor leaks and seep into the ground.

A groundwater supply that  is directly over a plot filled with animals, such as a farm environment, can be contaminated with the bacteria from aminal waste, The chronic use of chemically based pollutants such as weed killer, insecticides, and antifreeze puts many home groundwater supplies at risk for contamination.

Because there  are so many variables that can lead to groundwater pollution it is vital that the state of groundwater health be tested regularly.

Different causes of groundwater pollution have different warning signs. Sometimes these warning signs can  be found in the water itself while other times it takes awareness of one’s surroundings  to notice a problem. Being aware of potention dangers can help determine a problem should one develop.

When buying or leasing a new property, residents should become familiar with the hazards that are nearby. Is there a landfill in the area or a gas station across the street? Does the property have a septic system? This type of informaton can help residents keep themselves safe from exposure to pollution that can enter groundwater.

The three most common causes of groundwater pollution are septic systems, residential use of pesticides or automobile chemicals, and the use of deicing salts. If deicing salts were to seep into the groundwater supply the water’s  taste would become suspiciously salty. It takes a home test to determine high levels of chloride in the water itself to confirm the suspicions.

Most pesticides and other home use chemicals are either not readily detected in the water or will cause sudden illness in everything that the water is used to sustain. When plant life that is watered with pesticide polluted groundwater the plants tend to become ill and die. Animals that drink from the polluted water also become ill and may die.

If there is a stream or other small body of water on the property or nearby it is likely that the groundwater contaminaton has leached into the surface water and is killing the aquatic plants, fish and other dependant animals. While it usually takes a significant amount of chemical residue create such health hazards, over time some chemicals can accumulate and the property can have much more chemical base contaminants than originally  thought.

Septic system pollution usually shows signs of septic system failure elsewhere. Residents are likely to find that the septic system has backed up and is creating a raw sewage flood somewhere in the yard or the surrounding property.

In most cases groundwater tests are needed to determine the level of bacteria that infiltrated the groundwater. In very rare cases the water might appear to be off color or contain an unwelcome aroma.

 - Think before using any products or substances that might be harmfull to groundwater, even though you think it might not be enough to cause pollution of any sort, the other person might think the same, and at the end everybody is at risk.

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.

To test whether this technique could induce droplets, the researchers fired a high-powered laser through an atmospheric cloud chamber in the lab containing saturated air. They illuminated the chamber using a second, standard low-power laser, enabling them to see and measure any droplets produced. Immediately after the laser was fired, drops measuring about 50 micrometres wide formed along the plasma channel. Over the next three seconds, the droplets grew in size to 80 micrometres as the smaller droplets coalesced. The team’s results are published online in Nature Photonics (www.nature.com)

Rainmaker

The next step for Kasparian and his team was to take the technique outside. The researchers already have experience using plasma channels to modify the weather: in 2008, they demonstrated that a beam from their high-powered portable ‘Teramobile laser’ could be fired into thunder clouds, triggering an electric discharge². The beam was able to reach its target without being deflected because the generated plasma channel modifies the speed at which light travels through air — slowing it down in the centre of the beam and speeding it up at the sides. This causes the beam to continually self-focus, helping it to maintain a high intensity across large distances (see ‘Bendy laser beam fired through the air’).

This time, Kasparian and his colleagues tested the Teramobile laser over a number of different nights and in various humidity conditions. Once again, they detected the amount of condensation induced by monitoring how much the light from a second laser was back-scattered by any droplets. In low humidity conditions, the Teramobile laser did not induce droplets. But when the humidity was high, the team measured up to 20 times more back-scattering after the Teramobile laser was fired than before, says Kasparian, suggesting that condensation droplets were forming.

Roland Sauerbrey, an expert on laser physics at the FZD Dresden–Rossendorf Research Centre in Dresden, Germany, says that the team has the potential to create a “breakthrough technology”. “This is the first time that a laser has been used to cause condensation outdoors,” he says.

However, the technique is still in its early stages. “We can only create condensation along the laser channel, so we won’t be going out and making rain tomorrow,” Kasparian notes. He and his team are now investigating whether they can create condensation over a wider area, by sweeping their laser across the sky.

Thomas Leisner, an atmospheric physicist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, remains cautious about the feasibility of scaling up the technique in this way. “I am sceptical that this could be used to trigger rain on demand,” he says. But he adds that the technology will have other uses. The researchers should now calibrate the relationship between the amount of condensation produced by the laser and the prevailing atmospheric conditions, he says. “They could use the amount of condensation produced by their laser as a measure of water saturation to help forecast the chance of rain,” he says.

- Could this be the way we recieve rain in the 21st century? I know, humans are made intelligent enough to develop technology like this, but does it give us the right to play God??  I would like to know what you think……