"Water is life: respect it, conserve it, enjoy it."
Never have these ideas been more important to all South Africans than right now.
This week, the nation observes National Water Week, and we at the Two Oceans Aquarium ask you to open your eyes anew to the parts we all play in preserving and respecting this life-giving resource: water.
Less than 100 days left
At last reading, Cape Town’s dams have 18,6% of usable water left. “After two years of the least rainfall on record, the average level of the six main dams that supply the city of 3.7 million people has dropped below 30%, one of the lowest levels on record. The last 10% of the reservoir water is unusable, and the risk is mounting that taps and pipes will stop flowing before the onset of the winter rainy season that normally starts in May or June,” according to an article on Moneyweb.
While we are getting closer to our target consumption of 700 million litres a day, we are not there yet. That means we have to remind each other once again of the large and small steps we all can – and should – take to treat every drop of water with love and respect. “Love water”? Yes! Life would not exist without it.
What are you doing to #SaveWater?
If you visit the Aquarium this week, you will notice several water-saving tips scattered around the exhibits. Take a pic and share it with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter – and tell us what you’re doing to help preserve our blue gold, water.
When you visit us, you’ll also be able to view the video of our near-empty damns:
And check out the temporary exhibit that demonstrates, for example, how much water a leaking tap wastes, and how much water is wasted when you leave the tap running while you brush your teeth.
On Wednesday 22 March – World Water Day – at 12h00 we will be leading a Twitterchat with co-hosts the Green Times and Responsible Cape Town – asking our followers for their novel and interesting tips on saving water. Please tune in, follow the #SaveWater hashtag and share your advice.
Every voice counts, just like every drop does.
You can also find more tips on saving water on our blog:
