Water saving continues on the North Coast

The 2014 drought was a serious wake-up call for Dolphin Coast residents, who succeeded in reducing their daily water usage by almost two million kilolitres.

KZN was stricken by drought with Hazelmere Dam dropping to 25% of capacity and up to 50% water restrictions were implemented.

It also hit hard on the pockets of the poor as vegetables and fruits doubled in price.

Before the drought took hold in 2014, Sembcorp Siza Water needed about 13 million kilolitres per day to supply the Dolphin Coast.

In 2017, with the drought a distant memory, the average daily demand has dropped to about 11 million kilolitres.

“During the drought, we had an average consumption of 8,5 million kilolitres of water per day. Hence, it can be seen that although water restrictions have been lifted consumers have not reverted to their old consumption patterns and are definitely more conscious in their water usage, also note that the increased water consumption takes into account the development and a larger consumption base, for example, the Ballito Junction expansion,” said Semcorp Siza Water public relations officer, Khosi Mathenjwa.

Also read: No steep drop in Hazelmere Dam levels

Residents said the drought had been a harsh wake-up call and they are now saving water as much as they can.

However, they emphasised that there is definitely a need for more water saving awareness campaigns.

“To be honest, I got to know most of the water saving tips during the drought season and now that there is no drought, we see nothing in the newspapers. Should we now stop saving water?” asked Thenjiwe Mahlobo from Stanger.

Casandra Philpott from Ballito said the water saving tips that were given during the drought have been very useful to her and had helped her to save water more than before.

Little things like changing shower heads (if you have a high pressure unit), turning off a shower while you soap yourself, using a cup of water to brush your teeth and turning off water while shaving are some of the tips that residents find to be most useful.

One of the means of saving water that residents used during the drought was buying bottled water instead of using tap water.

Oasis Ballito owner Collin MacDonald was asked if sales of bottled water had decreased since the drought.

He said people had become used to drinking bottled water and preferred the taste, so sales continued to rise even after the water restrictions were over.

Another way of saving water that was used by the residents was installing Jojo tanks to water their gardens.

Khalik Gaffar from BBS Mica Ballito said the sales of Jojo tanks was very high during the drought.

Now that it is over, new home owners were specifying water tanks be installed with their houses and today’s sales were mainly to construction companies.

Water saving tips

1. Turn the tap off between washing your face, brushing your teeth or shaving.

2. Take a five-minute shower a day, instead of a bath. This will consume one-third of the water used for bathing in a bath tub, saving up to 400 litres a week. Showering can use up to 20 litres of water per minute. Taking a bath can use between 80 and 150 litres of water per bath.

3. Use low-flow showerheads, dual-flush toilet mechanisms and water-efficient washing machines.

4. Kettles should not be filled to the brim but contain just enough water for your needs. This will reduce your electricity bill as well.

5. Do not over-fill containers like cooking pots as this may result in the use of more energy to heat the water and water wastage.

6. Reducing the toilet flush volume can alone save 20% of total water consumption. This can be done by putting a 2-litre soft drink bottle, filled with water and a little sand to add weight, into the cistern.

7. Fix a leaking toilet otherwise it can waste up to 100 000 litres of water in one year.

8. Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Instead dispose of tissues, insects and other waste in the trash. Every time you flush the toilet, 12 litres of water is used.

9. Use “grey water” – used water from baths, washing machines and other safe sources – to flush your toilet and water your garden.

10. Invest in a Jojo tank and collect rain water for watering your garden and flushing your toilets.

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