Saving Water Protects God’s Creation

by Letters Editor · February 27, 2017

Walter Middleton, Johannesburg – I applaud José Scalabrino (January 18) for his simple but clear suggestions on how to save water.

Water is life and we need to show good stewardship of this God-given resource.

I have travelled to some of the remotest parts of Asia and Africa and have seen people, mostly women and children, walking for miles and miles to fetch a bucket of water. For them, water is more precious than gold. Some collect water from most unhygienic outlets.

As such, I am also passionate about saving water. Even if we have a quick shower, we can waste up to 12 to 15 litres of water.

As such, I use a large basin in which I stand and shower, and the water collected is used to flush the toilets. We also have a plastic basin, large enough to fit in the sink, and all water used to wash our plates and utensils is collected in buckets and used to water the garden.

Only if you start collecting water do you realise how much of the water could have gone down the drain.

In addition, I have installed a Jojo tank (1000-litre capacity) and have connected it to one of the gutters of the roof. It is amazing to see how the tank gets filled so quickly with one to two good showers of rain.

I use it to water my garden, top up the water in the pool, wash my car and fill up 15 (20-litre) buckets which I keep in reserve.

The Jojo tanks are not that expensive and they come in different capacities. To do it cheaply, one could also use a few old 200-litre drums and connect them together.

These measures save not only precious water, but also significant amounts of money. Like Jose, I have also saved a ton of money on my municipal accounts.

As the saying goes, “ Many a little makes a mickle.”