According to Johannesburg City Parks, South Africans uses 61% more water than the world average. Find out more about the importance of water, and how you can help save it.
The City of Joburg treats the month of March, which includes National Water Week and World Water Day, as Water Month, to stress the importance of conserving one of the city’s most precious resources. Know the importance of water, tips to save water and facts about water scarcity in South Africa.
The importance of water
Water provides the earth with the capacity to support life.
All plants and animals rely on water to survive.
Water is also essential for the healthy growth of farm crops and farm stock and is used in the manufacture of many products.
Water is important to the mechanics of the human body.
Tips on how to save water
Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hosepipe. A hosepipe uses 1 000 litres of water an hour.
Mulching your plants with bark chippings, heavy compost or straw and watering in the early morning and late afternoon will reduce evaporation and also save water.
Connect a water drum to your drainpipe and use the water collected to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows.
How plants and trees benefit from water
If there is not enough water for a plant, the nutrients it needs cannot travel through it.
A plant cannot grow if it doesn’t have healthy roots, so the proper balance of water is key when growing plants.
A typical tree breathes out 250 to 400 or more tons of water per day through the amazingly large surface area of its leaves (an acre of forest can contain well over 1 000 acres of leaf surface area).
Plants utilise most of the water absorbed from the soil for transpiration (95%), but a small portion of the water absorbed is used during photosynthesis for producing the carbohydrates necessary for plant growth (5%).
Facts on water scarcity in South Africa
South Africa is a water scarce country and is the 30th driest country in the world, with an average rainfall of about 40% less than the annual world average rainfall.
Shortage of water leads to poor sanitation and affects human health. South Africa is facing water shortages after the worst drought since 1992, cutting dam levels by 12% from a year earlier, as most of the country enters its four-month dry season.
South Africa has an average annual rainfall of less than 500mm, while that of the world is about 850mm. Despite all this, between 37% and 42% of potable water is unaccounted for.
The international average water usage per day is 170 litres, while South Africans use 61.8% more water than the world average.
