DEAR Editor,-
As headlined in last week’s South Coast Herald, large parts of South Africa face severe water shortages, yet the Rand Water Board has produced a TV commercial showing a young woman supposedly saving water by turning off the tap after wetting her toothbrush.
This is a really poor example of how to conserve any appreciable amount of water, as it isn’t even necessary to pre-wet a toothbrush – saliva is a quite adequate wetting agent. Although I do realise that many people let the water run the entire time they’re brushing their teeth, however, there are so many better ways for all of us to save far more water in our homes.
One method often mentioned is to place a brick in the cistern because a flush toilet uses a large amount of potable water. Better yet, adopt the ‘ditty’ used in the USA, where a number of states are experiencing similar water shortages – ‘When it’s yellow, let it mellow, when it’s brown, flush it down.’ And repair those dripping taps. The continuous dripping soon adds up to litres of precious water.
Another good way to save water, and electricity as well, is to institute a form of the ‘navy shower’. Navy ships spend long periods at sea and carry the fresh water for drinking and cleaning purposes. When showering, sailors are allowed 30 seconds to get wet, then they turn off the water while lathering. Rinsing is restricted to one minute.
While this may be taking water conservation to the extreme, unless we all make a conscious effort to do so, such measures may reach the point of being a necessity.
WATER-WISE
Pumula
