Here again with another (lame) public service announcement type post Water is vital for our existance and conserving it should be taken seriously - so yea I think it deserves it's own thread.

If you have any water saving tips please post them here

The City of Jhb have announced they will take the fining people and business that are non-compliant with the restrictions to the next level. There will also be an increase in tariffs on domestic customers based on how much water is used per household.

Residents can report on non-compliance by phoning the 24/7 line 011 758 9650.

Report leaks or burst pipes in your area to JHB Water on 0860 562 874. @JHBWater on twitter are also very responsive when it comes to reporting issues

What are the existing restrictions?
Level-2 water use restrictions (which have been in place since Nov 15) according to section 44 (3) of the Water Services Bylaw states that all consumers are compelled:
- not to water or irrigate their gardens between 06h00 and 18h00;
- only hand held hosepipes or buckets/watering cans are allowed outside these hours. Note that this is an additional requirement;
- Not to fill their swimming pools with municipal water; and
- Not to use hosepipes to wash their cars or to clean paved areas and driveways with water.

Full press release with all the details below

Just on this, the Vaal dam is only 34% full so this is reaching crisis stage. Hopefully there's good rains this summer, but we can't rely on that alone. SA is actually a water scarce country on par with desert nations like Israel, so I use of water has always been unsustainable

TIP: Let your bath, dishwasher, dish water run into a JOJO drum, and use that to water your garden instead, you can also let those run into different ponds, and these bonds can clean the water which can run into your pool, ensuring you do not have to fill your pool.

Take a shower instead of taking a bath.

Close the tap when brushing your teeth.

Get a water heater installed in your house, it heats up water faster than a geyser, and because it can be placed in the bathroom, it also means that you will not have to wait as long for hot water.

Let your drains on the roof go into various JOJO water tanks, this can be used to water the garden as well.

DER said ...

TIP: Let your bath, dishwasher, dish water run into a JOJO drum, and use that to water your garden instead, you can also let those run into different ponds, and these bonds can clean the water which can run into your pool, ensuring you do not have to fill your pool.

Take a shower instead of taking a bath.

Close the tap when brushing your teeth.

Get a water heater installed in your house, it heats up water faster than a geyser, and because it can be placed in the bathroom, it also means that you will not have to wait as long for hot water.

Let your drains on the roof go into various JOJO water tanks, this can be used to water the garden as well.

If you don't have the cash for all that you can leave your bath full and use a bucket then put the water in the toilet's cistern instead of waiting for it to fill itself

Vice Cerberus said ...

DER said ...

If you don't have the cash for all that you can leave your bath full and use a bucket then put the water in the toilet's cistern instead of waiting for it to fill itself

good one, forgot that one

Just be careful on using soapy water for grey water harvesting. They attract roaches, mole crikets and Parkies for some reason. YOu can get a filter in the JoJo IIRC to filter out soap etc and that's probably better for your garden and pool anyway

On a more practical note (5 minutes work at most) adjust the float level in the cistern. It's normal setting is between 6-9L. Mine was 10L! It's now about 6.5L. I noticed this whilst replacing the valve.

Great tips guys!

So I have an issue now.... people that I sort of know are using their sprinklers and sometimes not in the set watering times. I don't know them well enough to say "hey this is not right" and I do know them well enough to not want them to be fined :/

Anyone got suggestion on how I can approach this?

@Corr no idea, good luck with that

The only decent thing to do is to bring it to their attention which may result in some verbal abuse depending on the emotional intelligence of said miscreant. This is why many resort to the classic passive aggressive note system.

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

On another note these water restrictions are [censored]. Now I can't wash my car with hosepipe but I can use nearly the same amount of water in a bunch of [censored] buckets WHILST only using 6-8kL of water a month because I have an indigenous garden (previous previous owner - [censored] thorn trees, who thought was a good idea) and super duper eco washing machine.

Yet numpties can water their grass all through the night.

You should get unrestricted use of the 6-12KL and then pay through your arse for using more.

@Corr Unless you want to get assaulted with a hosepipe, just leave them be.
Some ppl can be...crazy

Scottie said ...

The only decent thing to do is to bring it to their attention which may result in some verbal abuse depending on the emotional intelligence of said miscreant. This is why many resort to the classic passive aggressive note system.

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Lol that site is hilarious! Will check it for some inspiration Hosepipe assualt doesn't sound funny so will need to sneak out in the dead of night to leave my note

But seriously need to think on how to talk about it to them

Scottie said ...

On another note these water restrictions are [censored]. Now I can't wash my car with hosepipe but I can use nearly the same amount of water in a bunch of [censored] buckets WHILST only using 6-8kL of water a month because I have an indigenous garden (previous previous owner - [censored] thorn trees, who thought was a good idea) and super duper eco washing machine.

Yet numpties can water their grass all through the night.

You should get unrestricted use of the 6-12KL and then pay through your arse for using more.

Yea so true. People that generally don't care about stuff like this still can get away with wasting water in the loop holes.

So people in GP haven't deceased their water usauge to meet targets so now gov will be implimenting them.

http://ewn.co.za/2016/10/12/Water-dept-unsuccessful-in-attempts-o-reduce-water-usage

Now, government is having to intervene and supply 15 percent less water to municipalities because of a consumer reluctance to adhere to restrictions.

Mokonyane says this is being done to prevent a system collapse.

“We had expected South Africans living in Gauteng, out of their own commitment, to help save water and that has not happened. It’s precisely because of that that now we have already taken 15 percent of the water.”

I am going to get some organic/natural soaps and stuff and use something like this to get the water out the bath and into a bucket for my plants upstairs. Will be no excuses to waste any of it then!



There actually very easy ways to get water out a bath to your garden (I don't have a garden - just pot plants up stairs so this won't work for me). One sure easy way is to put your hose pipe through your bathroom window and have the watering end of the pipe resting in the bath you want to empty. Then go outside to the tap where the pipe is usually plugged into an turn it on slowly and low. Wait until the pipe is full of water and going into the bath. Stop the tap, unplug the pipe from the tap and the water should now flow back up the pipe and into your garden. Simple, easy and no waste

@Corr those are good ideas, but I can also tell you that the municipalities are also up to[censored]. I have reported at least 2 burst pipes this past week and it takes Jhb Water around 2 days to send someone out to sort out. I haven't been watering gardens or such, but I can also see that other people aren't sticking to the plans too.

Not to mention when you're driving past businesses and their sprinklers are running at the hottest time of the day.

DEATHGIGAS said ...

Not to mention when you're driving past businesses and their sprinklers are running at the hottest time of the day.

Or the damn things are watering the street and pavement instead of the plants

Well I got a pleasent surprise this morning. Been waiting for the complex across the road to water the street again with their sprinkers, but drove past them and they are ripping up all their grass and replacing it with indigenous watersmart looking plants. So yay! So at least some people are making an effort. Maybe more with take up their example

Shocking pictures show just how empty the Vaal is