Page 33 - Boardwalk Meander Issue 1_2024

WATER MATTERS

HARVESTING AT HOME
As climate change brings more intense
droughts, all of us should take a good
look at our water habits. Consider
yourself pretty frugal? You might still be
wasting more than you think.
TRICKS THAT SAVE Meander to get to average cost of water
I used 6 households in Boardwalk

for October 2023. The average cost
came to R 1 466.67 per household.
YOU TONS OF WATER It is possible to save up to 50% of your

water bill during the rainy season if you
save water and do rain harvesting.

AND RAINWATER 1. If you have a dishwasher, put
down the sponge
It may feel more virtuous to wash by
hand, but it’s actually more wasteful:
Only use your dishwasher when its full
and stop it before the drying cycle so it
can air dry.
And just scrape off the food scraps
instead of rinsing each dish before you
load it.
2. Less water in your toilet tank
Place a plastic bottle filled with water
and pebbles or marbles in your toilet
tank. This will displace the water in the
tank and will cause less water to be used 5. Conduct regular leak hunts The best way to make sure you do not
with each flush. Doing this can save 10 Tour your home monthly, inside and out, have any underground leaking pipes is to
to 15 litres a day, and up to 350 litres in search of dripping taps, showerheads, close all the taps and make sure nobody
per month. hoses, and sprinklers. Most tap drips can is using any water, go to your municipal
Use the correct water saving button on be fixed simply by replacing a worn-out meter and see if the meter is moving, with
the toilet. washer. the slightest leak the meter will move.
3. Shower with a bucket and shorten
the time in the shower
Granted, it’s a little weird. Before
taking a shower, don’t waste cold
water while waiting for the warm
water. Instead, put a container
beneath the showerhead to store that
cold water, and use it later to water
your plants, or to clean your car or
windows. This can save as much as 400
litre per month.
On average a typical shower uses ten to
twenty litres of water a minute. Limit
your showers to the time it takes to
soap up, wash down and rinse off

You can also Install water-saving
shower heads or flow restrictors.
4. Test your toilet
Undetected internal leaks from tank
to bowl could waste up to 50 litres a
day. Drop a dye tablet or food colouring
in the tank yearly to see if the colour
of the water in the bowl changes. If it
does, your toilet needs a replacement
rubber flapper or fill mechanism.

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Boardwalk Meander Estate Issue 1 · 2024