Now that winter is here it’s a good time to install a rainwater tank and reduce your home’s reliance on Cape Town’s precious water.

5000 litre tank used to supply home with harvested [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 01 June 2011

Now that winter is here it’s a good time to install a rainwater tank and reduce your home’s reliance on Cape Town’s precious water.

5000 litre tank used to supply home with harvested rainwater

WHY RAINWATER?

A rainwater tank is a great way to make a difference to the environment and reduce your annual household water and sewerage costs.

It’s always a good time to install a rainwater tank, and now makes good sense given our winter rainfall pattern.

The average rainfall for Cape Town is approximately 600mm per annum. 10mm of rain on 100sqm of roof provides up to 1000 litres of stored water. A 100sqm roof will provide a whopping 60,000 litres a year.

Homeowners have the ability to make a great difference to the local water supply simply by installing a tank and system that will allow for the use of the stored water throughout their home and garden.

CHOOSING A TANK

Contrary to belief you don’t need a big tank to make good use of harvested rainwater for your home.

The size of the tank is calculated using the roof catchment area, type of roof, number of people in the home, etc., and the tank can be as small as 1500 litres. Harvested rainwater is drawn down constantly and replenished at each rainfall. So it makes no sense to have 10000 litres of storage capacity when the roof size and rainfall cannot fill the tanks.

Aesthetics may be an important factor when deciding on a tank. Tanks are available in a number of different colours and styles with the most common, and most cost effective, being the vertical round tank that is placed above ground.

Water Rhapsody Rain Runner. Used to harvest clean water.

Systems used to harvest rainwater no longer require that the tank is positioned close or under a downpipe, or outside the lounge window. Tanks can now be unobtrusively positioned at the bottom of the garden, out of sight, with pipe work concealed underground.

Water Rhapsody offers a vast range of rainwater tanks for domestic or commercial use, starting from 260-litre through to 27000 litre tanks, including slimline and underground tanks.

GRAND OPUS

Plumbing a rainwater tank into the house supply can be readily achieved for most established homes, but requires professional expertise.

Water Rhapsody offers their Grand Opus; a solution that ensures your home can run efficiently off an uninterrupted pressurized rainwater supply, with seamless transition to municipal water in the event of a sustained dry period.

With a Grand Opus the home would be assured of water at all times, even in the event of a water outage, for up to 2-days.

Cape Town is located in a water scarce region with a high demand and usage during the summer months.

It is not legal to send rainwater via a gully to sewer

“The City’s [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 13 April 2011

Cape Town is located in a water scarce region with a high demand and usage during the summer months.

It is not legal to send rainwater via a gully to sewer

“The City’s amended Water By-Law, promulgated on 18 February 2011, provides an opportunity for the City to be pro-active and introduce water conservation and demand management measures to ensure sustainability of the water supply to its consumers,” says the City’s Director for Water and Sanitation, Philemon Mashoko.

All requirements of the Water By-law must be complied with as from the promulgation date.

One of the most important changes to the by-law is that a Certificate of Compliance of water installations must be obtained and submitted to the City upon the transfer of any property to a new owner. This applies to domestic, commercial and industrial properties and includes sectional title units.

A suitably qualified and accredited plumber in terms of the South African Qualifications Authority, must certify that:

• the hot water cylinder complies with SANS 10252 and 10254
• the water meter registers
• there are no water leaks on the property
• water pipes and terminal fittings are correctly fixed in position
• no stormwater is discharged into the sewerage system
• there is no cross connection between the potable supply and any grey water or groundwater system which may be installed

The conveyancer, on behalf of the seller/owner, needs to submit the completed and signed form via e-mail to CertificateOfCompliance@capetown.gov.za. The system will not delay the issuing of rates and taxes clearances by the municipality.

For more information call Danie Klopper on 021 590 1488 or click here and look under the ‘policies, laws and by-laws’ tab to view the amended Water By-laws and Certificate of Compliance document.

Source: City of Cape Town

Demand for water in agriculture and energy production could spike in the coming decades while catastrophic floods and droughts strike more often, a water conference in Canada is to hear this week.

A [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 28 February 2011

Demand for water in agriculture and energy production could spike in the coming decades while catastrophic floods and droughts strike more often, a water conference in Canada is to hear this week.

A pair of denim jeans requires up to 6 tons of virtual water

“At unpredictable times, too much water will arrive in some places and too little in others,” said Zafar Adeel, chair of UN Water which coordinates water-related efforts of 28 United Nations organizations and agencies.

Within a generation, water demand in many countries is forecast to exceed supply by an estimated 40 percent.

In other parts of the world prone to flooding, catastrophic floods normally expected once a century could occur every 20 years instead.

Meanwhile, spending on technologies and services to discover, manage, filter, disinfect and desalinate water, improve infrastructure and distribution, mitigate flood damage and reduce water consumption by households, industry and agriculture is expected to rise to a trillion dollars annually by 2020.

Some 300 scientists, policy-makers and economists will release these and other research findings as well as proven new tools, ideas and best practices for optimizing water management at a Canadian Water Network international conference in Ottawa.

The event kicks off on February 28 and runs through March 3.

Conference speaker Hans Schreier of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver will present research buttressing the need for flood-prone areas to brace for more frequent disasters.

He pointed to Canadian insurance data showing claims resulting from extreme weather increased 20-fold in the past 30 years and flood-related claims now exceeding fire and wind insurance claims every year.

Schreier called for improved road and street designs to minimize rainwater runoff.

“Until now, all we’ve ever done in urban environments is to drain everything into rivers and lakes,” he told AFP.

But curbs, drains and impermeable surfaces could be replaced where possible with grassy shoulder depressions that collect and absorb rainwater while directing excess runoff into constructed wetlands or storm water retention ponds.

This would mitigate flood damage, but also polluted runoff normally drained via pipes into lakes and rivers would be instead filtered and cleaned as it sinks through the ground, helping compensate the extensive loss of wetlands to development.

Other low-cost innovations might include home driveway designs and materials that allow most precipitation to be absorbed instead of running onto streets and roads, he said.

Another topic to be discussed at the conference is the impact of water shortages on businesses that rely on “virtual water” or the amount of water used in production of items.

A desktop computer, for example, requires 1.5 tons (1,500 liters) of water; a pair of denim jeans up to 6 tons; a kilogram of wheat 1 ton; a kilo of chicken 3 to 4 tons; a kilo of beef 15 to 30 tons.

Nicholas Parker, chairman of the Cleantech Group, said: “What people don’t often realize is how much water there is in everything we make and buy, from t-shirts to wine.”

One proposal is to list water used on product package labels to inform consumers and encourage conservation, said Adeel, noting that annual global trade in “virtual water” now exceeds 800 billion tons, the equivalent of 10 Nile Rivers.

As developing countries gain wealth, their citizens’ demands for food and energy, which both require a lot of water to produce, will skyrocket, Adeel warned.

“We have to be prepared for the security challenges that will arise from this,” he said.

Policy innovations to be discussed include helping farmers reuse water or tap into municipal waste water to “get a lot more bang out of your buck for the same volume of water.”

Agriculture is the biggest water user by far at 71 percent worldwide.

Similarly, coupling industries so that runoff from one plant can be used as an input for another would go a long way to reduce shortages, Adeel said.

On the social front, he said it is important to get local entrepreneurs engaged.

He pointed to India where an estimated 500 million people have cell phones but only 350 million have access to toilets.

“That says there is something in their marketing approach that the cell phone companies have got right. We just need to duplicate that (business acumen) to bring clean water and sanitation to all,” he said.

- AFP

Only a minute share of water in our planet (2.5%) is potable, and most is locked up as ice while only one per cent is available in lakes, rivers and underground water tables for [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 08 November 2010

Only a minute share of water in our planet (2.5%) is potable, and most is locked up as ice while only one per cent is available in lakes, rivers and underground water tables for human consumption.

The Water Rhapsody Rain Runner is self cleaning, and separates rainwater from roof debris

In South Africa our average rainfall is only about half that of the global average – 450mm per year against the world average of 860mm per year. South Africa is a water stressed country yet little emphasis is placed on rainwater harvesting as a solution. Instead, we look erringly at energy expensive and non-sustainable fixes such as desalination.

By harvesting rainwater from our roofs, rather than using municipal water, we reduce stress on our estuaries and there is less extraction from our rivers.

Collecting or harvesting rainwater for garden irrigation may seem the obvious way to go, but during the rain season when irrigation is not necessary, an overflowing tank simply defeats the purpose of productive rainwater harvesting.

It makes far more sense to use harvested rainwater in the home, including garden. Every time you open a tap, flush the loo, or use the washing machine, or any other use of water, you first and foremost use the water harvested from your roof. This removes the romantic notion of filling a water tank and not knowing what to do with the water, or trying to fill a water tank with harvested rainwater that is full already!

A rainwater tank will fill quickly during rainfall, e.g. a metal roof will produce 1000 litres of harvested rainwater for every 100 sq. metres of roof area with 11mm of rainfall. For a tiled roof you need 16mm to produce the same yield.

An important factor to note when storing rainwater is prevention of mosquito infestation and using a UV stabilised storage area. Rainwater tanks are mostly UV stabilised but do nothing to keep out those pesky mosquitoes. This can only be achieved effectively by installing correctly specified filters at source.

Rain Runners (by Water Rhapsody) perform this important function and are installed at each downpipe. These are also self-cleaning and therefore require no maintenance.

Another interesting point to note is that with the Water Rhapsody system the rainwater tank does not need to be close to the downpipe or house. Pipe work from the gutter to the tank is concealed underground, so there is no longer a need to have an unsightly tank outside the lounge window.

Rainwater systems augment municipal supply meaning that should the rainwater run out the system will seamlessly change over to municipal supply, and as an added bonus you get up to 2-days of emergency supply at all times, so you’ll never run out of water, even if the municipal supply is interrupted.

For more information contact your local Water Rhapsody franchisee or visit our Rainwater Harvesting page.

Click on picture to learn more about Rainwater Harvesting

In order to give a boost to rainwater harvesting (RWH), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to give a rebate in property tax as an incentive [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
30 January 2010

Click on picture to learn more about Rainwater Harvesting

In order to give a boost to rainwater harvesting (RWH), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to give a rebate in property tax as an incentive to buildings and housing societies who set up RWH systems.

The BMC proposes to award points to residential buildings that have adopted eco-friendly measures and thereby give an incentive in the form of rebate on property taxes. The important features considered for buildings and housing societies are rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling plants, solid water management, segregation of organic and non-organic waste, creating manure from waste etc.

The main objective of making rainwater mandatory in all buildings is to recharge groundwater and augment overall water availability. This measure will ensure that rainwater is tapped and directed to recharge groundwater or stored for direct consumption by occupants of the buildings.

Source: DNA

The water collected (or harvested) from the roofs of houses should be put to good use in the home. When using Rainwater Tanks to their fullest potential huge water savings can be realized.

Rainman Stuart [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
13 January 2010

The water collected (or harvested) from the roofs of houses should be put to good use in the home. When using Rainwater Tanks to their fullest potential huge water savings can be realized.

Rainman Stuart McQuire. Photo by Craig Abraham

Case in point is Stuart McQuire of Melbourne. By making use of 20300 litres of stored water capacity the McQuires have been free from council or municipality supplied water for 5-years; barring 3 days in the last year when their tanks ran dry. The McQuires correctly use their stored rainwater for household use, i.e bath, shower, laundry and toilet flushing.

In South Africa, Water Rhapsody Conservation Systems offer their unique Grand Opus – an uninterrupted pressurized water supply that sieves collected rainwater, providing the homes’ rainwater tank with clean water ready for household use. This unique system guarantees a water supply at all times by allowing the introduction of mains water should the tank ever run dry.

Read more about Rainwater Harvesting in South Africa

Harvested rainwater should be used for more than just garden irrigation. A true Rainwater Harvesting system augments the supply delivered by the local municipality and in so doing a household makes primary use of the collected [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
03 January 2010

Harvested rainwater should be used for more than just garden irrigation. A true Rainwater Harvesting system augments the supply delivered by the local municipality and in so doing a household makes primary use of the collected rainwater.

Only when the water in the rainwater tank is drawn down does municipal supply automatically kick in. After the rainwater is used in the home the resultant grey water can then be used for garden irrigation, and in this way the harvested rainwater is used more efficiently.

Rainwater Harvesting

The size of the tank required is dependant on factors such as the number of occupants in the home, the size of roof and the local rainfall pattern. Installing a large tank of 10000 litres when a smaller tank of 2500 litres would do is simply cost inefficient. Conversely, installing a tank that is too small can be very frustrating and wasteful when all that water spills from the overflow.

When contemplating a rainwater harvesting system it is imperative that a professional is consulted and attends to the installation. In this way you are ensured of conformity to your local municipality regulations.

A further benefit derived from a professionally installed system is the emergency supply that is available at all times in the event of any water outage or water cuts.

Read more about Rainwater Harvesting http://www.savingwater.co.za/rainwater-harvesting/

Failure by Chennai (India) to implement grey water conservation methods, similar to those in use in both Bangalore and Mumbai, has resulted in the water table in Chennai dropping to a current level of 400 meters [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
22 December 2009

Failure by Chennai (India) to implement grey water conservation methods, similar to those in use in both Bangalore and Mumbai, has resulted in the water table in Chennai dropping to a current level of 400 meters from 4 meters in 1960.

Beach Near Chennai. Photo by bbjee under Creative Commons Licence 2.0

Chennai’s usage of rainwater harvesting structures, previously made mandatory by government for all buildings in Chennai City, is still working but Dr Ramachandran of the Climate Centre; Anna University has recommended that steps are taken similar to those in Mumbai where proposals have been made to also make the use of grey water mandatory.

Grey water is the waste-water from baths, showers, basins and laundry, and can be safely used for garden irrigation or toilet flushing. Dr Navaneetha Gopalakrishnan Anna University’s Environmental Studies Department is recommending that it be made mandatory for urban areas to make use of grey water.

Cape Town City kicked-off its Green Goal 2010 Action Plan on 17 October 2008. The programme is intended to ‘contribute to raising awareness, minimising waste, diversifying and using energy efficiently, consuming water sparingly, compensating for the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
21 December 2009

Cape Town City kicked-off its Green Goal 2010 Action Plan on 17 October 2008. The programme is intended to ‘contribute to raising awareness, minimising waste, diversifying and using energy efficiently, consuming water sparingly, compensating for the event’s carbon footprint, practicing responsible tourism, and constructing infrastructure with future generations in mind.’

Cape Town with Green Point Stadium in the foreground. Photo: City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town will use the unique opportunity that the World Cup presents to ‘demonstrate to the world its commitment to responsible environmental management, whilst improving the living environment and livelihoods of its people. It is also an opportunity to sensitise the local and international football community and fans to environmental issues.’

An integral part of the Green Goal initiative includes water conservation; it’s objective to ‘minimise the use of potable water and promote conservation of water resources’. ‘The aim is to reduce water consumption, specifically potable (drinking) and groundwater, through the use of efficient fixtures, controlled irrigation and public awareness.’

‘The use of rainwater and grey water is encouraged wherever possible, as well as the protection of water resources through the use of environmentally friendly products to clean stadia and maintain pitches. In creating new construction surfaces, the use of permeable materials for pitches and walkways has also been promoted.’

All of the greening initiatives include concerns for future-event environmental, social and economic impacts on the immediate and extended environment.

Source: City of Cape Town

A few months ago we Capetonians experienced electricity cuts that left selected households in the dark whenever Eskom decided it was time to be switched off.

Well, how would we react to water cuts? Notwithstanding the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems
02 November 2009

A few months ago we Capetonians experienced electricity cuts that left selected households in the dark whenever Eskom decided it was time to be switched off.

Well, how would we react to water cuts? Notwithstanding the occasional lack of water supply due to broken water pipes – which leave us like fish out of water – the reality is that with a future probability of dwindling water supplies and looming shortages, there is a real risk that we could find ourselves with Eskom-style cuts to our water supply.

Think this sounds a little far fetched? Not so. Take a look at what’s been happening in Pasadena, USA.  According to the Pasadena Municipal Code, property owners have to select one day of the week in which they may use sprinklers to irrigate; non-compliance carries a fine of up to $1000. And in Mumbai, residents staged a street protest due to continued water cuts. Their fresh drinking water is delivered by privately owned tankers, for which the price has rocketed 350%.

Think of how you would react to extended periods of no water supply. Hopefully not like the residents of a Colorado town who, according to recent reports, resorted to fighting over water. In a more serious incident a few years ago, several rioting villagers died in Shandong China when officials cut off their irrigation water.

If this all seems a little apocalyptic, consider what all the hype is about.  Is this bleak future inevitable; or can we accept ownership and take mitigating action?  It comes down to viewing water today – as the precious commodity it will become tomorrow.  Use it wisely; use it more than once; save it for a non-rainy day.

Grey water re-use and rainwater harvesting will soon become basic household necessities if we are to ensure anything close to the quantity of water availability that we are used to.

So don’t wait for the drought and the inevitable water restrictions that will leave your garden a thirsty brown.