Help Future Generations

Saving water is an excellent way to show that you care and are willing to do your little bit to help. Whether you store just a small amount to reduce your use of the municipal supply or get off the grid completely,it will be beneficial for the entire community and for future generations.

The more we can save now the more there will be for our children. Saving water now will also teach our children to save and we can create a water wise generation for the future.

Keep on saving,even when it's raining.

Acid Mine Drainage threat to Gauteng

Johannesburg –Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in Gauteng poses a threat to residents and government needs to act swiftly in addressing the problem,the provincial housing department said on Wednesday.

“The impact of Acid Mine Drainage in Gauteng is a significant environmental problem that has a potential to undermine socio-economic development,and pose a threat to human lives. The impact of this can already be seen in some municipalities in the province,”the department’s deputy director-general on human settlements William Bhila said.

This emerged at one-day conference between the South African Local Government Association and the department,which addressed the impact of AMD and explored ways to manage the problem.

AMD is presently a cause for concern in the West Rand basin,the Central Rand basin and the East Rand basin,Bhila said.

“AMD has already been decanting from the West Rand Basin since 2002. This resulted in the loss of animal life and the corrosion of fittings in the Mogale City area.”

Bhila said the government needed to act swiftly before AMD started to decant in the other two basins. Marius Keet from water affairs department said the best way to tackle this problem is through collaboration by all stakeholders.

“We need to explore the possibility of partnerships between public and private sectors”,he said.

Bhila said the general solution is to pump the water from below the environmental critical level to the surface where it is neutralised.

- SAPA
November 17th,2011 | Tags:,,,,,,,,,,,,, | Category:acid mine drainage,AMD,environment,environmental,gauteng,government,johannesburg,public,water | Comments are closed

No garden watering in Hermanus

Water Restrictions Still Applicable In Greater Hermanus Area.

Residents in the greater Hermanus area are reminded that water savings measures are still in place and that their full cooperation is needed to ensure that the dry season can be seen through with the available water resources.

Gardens may not be watered with potable water provided by the municipality. With the gardening season now starting,keen gardeners are encouraged to recycle grey water harvested from baths,showers and washing machines.

The 24.9 mm of rainfall measured in September is far below the monthly average of 50.9mm. The De Bos dam level is currently 42% full,which essentially means 33% full because the municipality wont be able to extract water from the dam when the dam level reaches 9%.

November 7th,2011 | Tags:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | Category:dam,dam level,dry,gardening,gardens,grey water,hermanus,municipality,potable water,rainfall,recycle,resources,water resources,water restrictions,water savings | Comments are closed

Climate change will reduce water

Rome –The UN food agency warned climate change will restrict the availability of water for farming in decades to come,including in the Mediterranean region,and urged governments to take action.

A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said climate change will reduce river runoff and aquifer recharges,adding that the loss of glaciers “will eventually impact the amount of surface water available”.

The report said that in Asia “large areas of irrigated land that rely on snowmelt and mountain glaciers for water will also be affected”.

“Heavily populated river deltas are at risk from a combination of reduced water flows,increased sanity and rising sea levels,”it added.

FAO also found that while increased temperatures will lengthen the growing season in northern temperate zones they will reduce it almost everywhere else,leading the yield potential and water productivity of crops to decline.

It said governments should improve the ability of countries to measure their water resources,as well as encourage farmers to change their cropping patterns to allow earlier or later planting and reduce their water use.

“Farm size and access to capital set the limits for the scope and extent of adaptation and change at farm level,”the report said.

- AFP
November 1st,2011 | Tags:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | Category:aquifers,climate change,countries,crops,farming,farms,glaciers,irrigated,reduce,river,river water,rivers,runoff,water,water demand | Comments are closed
 
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