Rainwater Harvesting, Grey water recycling and a range of solar systems can save your business money. If [...]]]> Many Hotels and businesses are now getting into the green movement as we now realise how much money can be saved. The obvious tips can save you on your utilities, but you can also save by installing environmental systems.

Rainwater Harvesting, Grey water recycling and a range of solar systems can save your business money. If you would like any information about how your business can reduce utility spend, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Trying to tighten up the expense sheet plays a huge role in increasing profitability.  For hotels/business, a large portion of expenses are directly related to the utility costs of water and electricity.  Fortunately, there are numerous ways to reduce water and electricity output. The most essential guidelines for lowering the expenses of these key utilities are conservation and utilization of ‘green’ technologies.

Conservation

There are several ways a hotel can go about encouraging both guests and staff to make smart energy and water choices. The easiest is to place attractive signs in guest rooms and public areas that remind guests and staff to turn off lights and appliances when not in use. Also make it mandatory that housekeepers do so every time they service a room.  During turnovers, housekeepers should also unplug all the appliances.  Just remember that hard to reach plug ins are an inconvenience for customers so determining which items are unplugged should be a room by room decision.

Lighting is a huge energy user so investing in the installation of timers or key-activated lighting is a great cost slashing action. Public restrooms, conference rooms and rarely occupied outdoor areas are great places to utilize timer or motion-detection lighting.  Guest rooms and storage areas are appropriate places to install key-activated lighting.  This makes sure the lights are off when the room is empty, saving energy costs along the way. Using outdoor light fixtures with photosensers will also help conserve the use of lighting energy by only having lights on during low-light times – no soon and no later! Remote activation is also a great technique to keep heating and cooling costs down. Using thermostat controls to keep public areas at optimized levels will help lower energy bills and increase customer comfort.

Water conservation is now being achieved through the implementation of linen re-use programs. Inform guests that you will not change linens or towels daily unless they request the service.  This still allows the customer the right to have clean linens, but also saves often unnecessary extra loads of wash and thousands of gallons of water every day.

Invest in ‘green’ technology

No matter your position on how green technology can affect our environment, it is without question that they provide extreme long-term savings. Replacing bathroom fixtures with low-flow technologies is a prime example of savings benefits.  Aerators are a cheap and easy installation on faucets that can save up to 17 gallons of water per faucet a day! Low-flow shower heads can cut water output in half and low-flow toilets use just 1/5 of the amount of water that regular toilets use. If replacement isn’t an option, “Sloan” valves and quick flaps produce similar results for toilets.

Energy-efficient bulbs are also big energy savers. Fluorescent bulbs may be a little pricier than their incandescent counterparts, but their life-span and lower energy output gives them an exceptional return on the initial investment. Guest rooms should use the lowest watt possible and public areas should be lit up with T5 or T8 bulbs. Signage lamps can now be replaced with LED lights that consume just 5 watts of energy per fixture!  When switching over to energy-saving bulbs remember that it is important to replace magnetic ballasts with electronic or digital ballasts to achieve the most effective lighting.

No matter your budget, a little investment will go a long way in cutting back on utility expenses.  The more you can put into it in both manual effort and technological replacements, the more you will save in the long-run.

-Travelwires.com

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Eco Origin have now done installations for AVI, Vodacom, Wits university and many [...]]]> Due to the pollutions of our scarce and valuable water resources, the consumer could face price hikes of Eskom quantities. If you harvest your rainwater for household consumption, you could dramatically reduce your reliance on the municipal grid and save yourself some money.

Eco Origin have now done installations for AVI, Vodacom, Wits university and many residential homes. If you would like to know about rainwater harvesting, the costs involved and the payback period, please contact us.

Water prices for South Africans could in the near future quadruple as a result of the escalating pollution of the country’s water resources by the country’s mining industry.

“If we don’t find a special development where we can mine without affecting water resources, the prices of water will go up. Someone will need to pay for either the treatment of water or getting more water, and I believe that person is the consumer,” said Koos Pretorius of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment.

Pretorius, who was speaking on the sidelines of the AgriSA’s Water Conference in Kempton park, said the sad reality was between 30 and 40 percent of South Africa’s power utility Eskom’s electricity generation was still reliant on coal.

“We are mining sensitive areas where there is a conflict of interest between mining, agricultural production and the quality of water. We need to move away from this urgently,” Pretorius said.

The farming community had been complaining that it was carrying the costs of water pollution because water fetched from rivers contained heavy metals that accumulated in produce.

He said these vast areas were growing day by as they were about coal mines in 2001 and there were about 400 mining rights applications and another staggering 6 000 applications for prospecting rights in Mpumalanga alone.

Water Affairs and Environment (DWA) Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said her department was busy with plans to formulate a strategy along with the Chamber of Mines and was also planning on board the Department of Mineral (DMR).

“The strategy will be two faced. The first part will be dealing with the imminent and looming crisis and the second part will centre on the long term sustainability of water quality,” she said.

Sonjica said in the 2009/10 financial year, her department had issued a total 239 directives, 31 of these had been resolved positively and 14 were currently before the Courts.

“The rest of these are undergoing the rigorous process of being resolved. We will intensify this aspect of our work to ensure that we bring to book all the offenders,” she said.

- Business Report

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If you would like to know more about how you can install systems like rainwater harvesting to protect you from this [...]]]> As most of us saw on Carte Blanche last night, there is a huge problem with acid mine water in Gauteng. This threatens the streets of Johannesburg, it’s inhabitants and alarmingly the surrounding fresh water.

If you would like to know more about how you can install systems like rainwater harvesting to protect you from this threat, please contact us.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) urges the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to act immediately to avert overflow of acid mine drainage below the City of Johannesburg.

The city sits on top of what is referred to as the Central Basin, an area with a legacy of over 100 years of mining. In the absence of the pumping of mine water from this basin for more than a year now, the acid mine drainage is rising at between 600mm and 900mm a day, with its current level being 600m below the surface.  At this rate overflow will happen in the city, possibly even in the CBD, in early 2012, compromising the integrity of buildings and causing incalculable damage. The window of opportunity in which to formalise a concrete response to this impending disaster is now only a few weeks away, as the lead time for the required engineering will take between 7 and 8 months thereafter.

MPs of the DA that serve on the Portfolio Committee of Water and Environmental affairs have spent the last few days touring various sites in Gauteng and Mpumalanga that are currently experiencing  acid mine overflows or are likely to experience overflows in the very near future.  On the East Rand, we saw firsthand the disaster that is the Aurora mine, where untreated or partially treated acid mine drainage has been flowing into the adjacent Ramsar wetland for much of this year. This mine, beset by financial problems, that include the non-payment of workers, needs to increase its pumping and treating of water or risk further mineral reserves below the East Rand being lost.

On the West Rand we saw firsthand overflow of acid mine drainage on the property of Rand Uranium, which began in January this year but has continued unabated since then. The current rate of overflow is 12 Ml a day. Rand Uranium, like Aurora, has to deal with the drainage from many mines that have operated in their respective basins, over time, but are now closed. This may not be a fair situation but it is a reality. The legacy of mining is shocking, and the Department of Mineral Resources stands accused of doing nothing to deal with these problems. The Department of Water Affairs has had to take the lead and its officials are frustrated by the lack of action by Mineral Resources. But the Water Department has also been dragging its feet, caught up in bureaucracy. The suspension of the DG of this Department in July 2009 also set back efforts to come up with a coordinated response. We have lost many months in the interim.

The warnings of acid mine drainage overflow have existed on the West Rand for almost 15 years. Civil society has played an active role in alerting government to the impending threats. There was overflow in 2008, and now again in 2010. The Minister stepped in with a short-term solution earlier this year when she committed R6.9m for the purchase of lime to partially treat overflow of mine water in the West Rand. While we have it on good authority that the financial commitment has not been fully delivered, the treatment option itself has caused more problems. While helping to reduce the acidity of water, it has left a sludge of heavy minerals, in downstream dams, which can be reactivated by subsequent overflows. We saw firsthand the Hippo Dam in the Krugersdorp which has been turned into a reactor dam, something which should never exist outside of a mining property.

At this time the West Rand basin is full and the Central Basin is rising. Their fortunes are joined. The DA is aware of a solution that has been proposed by members of the mining sector, which was presented to the Department on 14 July 2010. It is a result of over 4 years of hard work and research on the part of various stakeholders. It is as far as we know the only real option on the table, ready to move if approved quickly. Essentially it involves the pumping of acid mine drainage from the Western Basin into the Central Basin through a new pipeline, and then subsequent pumping out of the Central Basin where the water will be partially treated before discharge. It is not perfect, but then the immediate risks are so immense, that if we were to wait for the perfect solution Johannesburg will experience a disaster. Such a response also buys some time in which a more permanent solution can be worked out which would, among other things, need to include a higher degree of treatment of the water that will be discharged.

The DA believes that this is an emergency situation. Officials of the Department, with the active support of the Minister, need to devote their energies over the coming days to authorising definitive action by the mines, in conjunction, with some financial support from the Department. The Minister’s own reputation is on the line. She will be measured on how she responds to this emergency.

- Gareth Morgan 

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Speak to [...]]]> We all need to make sure that we take care of our gardens as many foreign and invasive plants are taking over, having a negative impact on the surrounding water table. Eco Origin are currently doing a drive to encourage all our clients to plants indigenous plants and trees as opposed to foreign ones.

Speak to your closest nursery and find out which plants are affecting your garden and also find out which local plants would grow best in your area. If you would like to know more about how you can conserve water in your home/property, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Invasive alien plants now infest 20-million hectares of South Africa – an area twice as large as previously estimated.

The shock finding comes from an Agricultural Research Council (ARC) report commissioned by Water Affairs.

“The previous figure was 10 million hectares. We knew this was an under-estimate, but we didn’t think it was this big. It’s come as quite a shock,” the department’s natural resource management programme operations head, Christo Marais, told Sapa.

The ARC had briefed the department on the new estimate at a Working for Water (WfW) implementation meeting earlier this month.

Marais said it had long been obvious there was an under-estimation of the scale of the problem, particularly in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Invasive alien vegetation, including various species of wattle, pine, poplar, weeping willow, gum trees, hakea and prickly pear, among others, pose a serious threat to South Africa’s water supply, as well as the country’s agricultural potential and biodiversity.

If the 20-million hectares of alien invasive vegetation across the country could be condensed into a single area, it would form a dense, impenetrable thicket about twice the size of the Kruger National Park.

Marais said that 15 years ago, government had established WfW to tackle the problem of invasive aliens, while at the same time provide skills training and employment for thousands of poor, jobless citizens, particularly in rural areas.

In the current financial year, the project had been allocated “a more than R635 million budget”.

Asked how long it would take to clear 20-million hectares of alien vegetation, and what this would cost, Marais said a “conservative” estimate was R34 billion over the next 25 years.

Left untouched, the alien vegetation would spread at an average rate of one percent a year, threatening water and food security.

“This is actually one bit of good news. We initially estimated it was spreading at five percent a year, but the figure now appears to be one percent,” he said.

According to the ARC report, over 600 000 hectares (condensed area) of the Eastern Cape are infested with black, green and silver wattles, as are more than 300 000 hectares in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Eastern Cape has also lost over 200 000 hectares to prickly pear, and the same area again to invasive Australian gums.

A further 250 000 hectares of KwaZulu-Natal have also been taken over by the North American invader, Chromolaena odorata, more commonly referred to as “paraffin” bush because of the fire hazard it poses.

Poplars infest more than 150 000 hectares in the Free State, while prosopsis, better known as mesquite, takes up 350 000 hectares of the Northern Cape.

On a national scale, black, green and silver wattles have taken over more than 1.6-million hectares of South Africa; gums occupy 1.4-million hectares; and a million hectares are under invasive pines and poplars (500 000 hectares each).

Other significant alien invasives listed in the report include lantana, syringa, queen of the night cactus, agave, guava, Spanish reed and sesbania.

Marais said the department was looking at ways of off-setting the cost of clearing invasive plants, including biological control.

“Biological control could reduce the clearing costs by between 10 and 20 percent, assuming such control can reduce the plants’ seed set and expansion.

“Another possibility is utilising dense stands of alien vegetation for bulk fibre production, or as an energy source. This could further offset costs.”

Land owners also needed to take responsibility for invasive plants on their properties.

“According to current legislation, the land user is primarily responsible for management of their land, therefore land managers must take responsibility. The [cost] burden cannot be placed on government alone. Land managers must come to the party.”

Marais said the department was also examining the cost benefits of clearing land, particularly water catchments.

Surveys showed that clearing invasive alien plants from a watershed could increase water yield significantly. This extra water could then be sold and the money used to offset the clearing costs. – Sapa

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We have installed some fantastic commercial systems that range from backup water supply to safeguard business from water shortages to large scale rainwater [...]]]> The economic impact of water shortages in Gauteng could be catastrophic. We do notice that the standard government answer for water issues is always “new sources” and not on conservation or water catchment.

We have installed some fantastic commercial systems that range from backup water supply to safeguard business from water shortages to large scale rainwater catchment and grey water re-use.

Large companies like AVI and Vodacom as well as educational institutions like Wits University have taken this step with us. They are now paying less for water and reducing their impact on Gauteng’s already stressed infrastructure.

If you would like to know more about how you can save water in your business, please do not hesitate to contact us.

SA’s economic hub will run short of water should a severe drought occur in the next 10 years, as water losses have not been stemmed and new sources of supply are still 10 years away, according to a leading engineer.

The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project will supply Gauteng only in 2020, although, according to experts, SA’s major Vaal River system is already in deficit, as is the Umgeni system.

Negotiations were still under way with the government of Lesotho regarding the flagship project, the Department of Water Affairs said on Friday.

“It is expected to take more than nine years to prepare for and implement the project,” the department said. Once implemented, this second phase would be able to transfer 479-million cubic metres annually to SA.

However, until this project was completed, SA ran the risk of severe water restrictions in the event of a critical drought in the next 10 years, said engineer Dr Chris Herold, a council member of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering.

Dr Herold said there was a mismatch between water demand and new sources of supply, resulting from a failure to stem water losses in the system.

H aving a deficit in the Vaal River system was an unacceptable risk to run for the next 10 years, he said. The system, which supplies Gauteng, already had a 2% supply deficit, which would progressively worsen to an 11% deficit by 2019, he said.

Water theft by farmers in the area has worsened the situation, with 175-million cubic metres taken from the Vaal River every year, increasing the supply deficit to about 8% a year.

The Umgeni River system in KwaZulu-Natal has only a 92% assuredness of supply, with a one in 13 risk of water restrictions. The rivers supply water to regions generating two-thirds of SA’s gross national product.

About 30% of water intended for domestic use was lost through leaking or burst pipes, according to industry estimates quoted by previous water affairs minister Lindiwe Hendricks . The minister announced a water conservation and demand management programme in 2007 which aimed to achieve a 15% saving in demand, by plugging leaking pipes.

Demand management, however, has to be implemented by municipalities. Many smaller municipalities are in poor shape with few or no engineers or technical staff.

Joburg Water has set aside R830m for a pipe replacement programme, with priority given to suburbs with the worst incidences of burst pipes.

Joburg Water’s chairwoman, Martie Janse van Rensburg, said water use patterns needed to change. “People need to be aware that water is scarce.” More efficient technologies should be considered, along with the reuse of water, she said.

- Business Day

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JOJO Tanks are proud to announce the official launch of the [...]]]> Since Eco Origin’s recent acceptance as a preferred supplier of Jo-Jo products we have been blown away by the response for many of their products. Jo-Jo are now launching a new slimline tank. If you would like to hear more about this please contact us.

JOJO Tanks are proud to announce the official launch of the new “JOJO Slimline Tank”.

NEW FROM JoJo tanks… the JoJo Slimline™

Perfect for rainwater harvesting and water security use in the city, this streamlined compact design is ideally suited for urban areas where space is a consideration. 

The JoJo Slimline™ is 1800mm x 750mm, holds 750lt of water and fits easily through a regular door frame.  Its ergonomic design ensures that it can be mounted around corners and down narrow walkways of urban homes.  Connect a few Slimlines in a series to maximise water storage capacity. 

Connect a JoJo Slimline™ to the water mains to secure continued water supply when the municipal water is cut off. 

The JoJo Slimline™  is fitted with

1.     An inlet / overflow with a 40 mm female thread

2.     A bottom outlet with a 40mm tank connector; fitted with a thumbscrew

3.     A sieve with a stainless steel mesh to keep out leaves and mosquitoes.

4.     A black, child-safe clip-on lid to keep the dust out and to ensure that no algae grows in the tank.

5.     A brass 20mm lockable tap strategically positioned to allow easy access to a watering can or a bucket.

Like all other JoJo tanks, the Slimline™

1.     Carries a 5-year product guarantee. 

2.     Only uses the best quality food grade virgin materials to withstand the test of time.

3.     Is UV resistant – lined with a carbon black food safety accredited lining material to stop algae growth

4.     Is manufactured in a variety of colours to satisfy clients’ requirements.

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Under the agreement, communities living on both sides of the border will have the right to use water from the dam.

“SADC member countries have agreed to preserve water and [...]]]> Schoemansdal – Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica signed a water-sharing agreement with her Swaziland counterpart, Tsandzile Dlamini, at Driekoppies Dam in Mpumalanga on Friday.

Under the agreement, communities living on both sides of the border will have the right to use water from the dam.

“SADC member countries have agreed to preserve water and promote the sharing of resources among ourselves, and therefore this is a good move for both countries because the project will benefit the citizens of both South Africa and Swaziland,” said Sonjica.

She reminded community members who attended the launch that water had to be used sparingly.

“As we celebrate our achievement today, we should never forget the fact that Swaziland and South Africa are indeed water-stressed countries. We do not have a surplus of water and we cannot afford to abuse our precious water resources. A few good thunderstorms or rising dam levels can never be invitations to waste water or to underestimate its value,” she said.

During the signing of the agreement on Friday, three agricultural sheds and a variety of farming implements were handed over to beneficiaries from the Schoemansdal, Schulzendal and Middelplaas communities, who were forced to relocate when construction of the Driekoppies Dam started in 1994.

The various communal compensation projects amount to more than 260ha under irrigation using water from Driekoppies Dam, as well as about 2900ha of farming land used for various crop cultivation projects.

Sonjica told the beneficiaries that a “mammoth task” awaited them in ensuring the success of their projects.

“Today, the ball is in your court and I challenge you to take heed of the teachings you received from your various mentors and take full responsibility of your projects. By so doing, you will ensure continued success, and your work will be hailed as one of the best of all dam relocation projects.

“I must emphasise that this means hard work, increased commitment and diligence. However, the rewards also mean wider and deeper economic benefits. I am confident that you are capable of taking each project to heights whereby you will not only be a beacon to the province but to the entire country as well,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mathapha Khoza assured the minister that government had invested its money well and the dam’s usage would be to the benefit of all the communities around it.

“We will make sure that this project is properly handled. Water is a precious gift from God, and preserving the water and the land is our priority,” said Khoza. – BuaNews

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If you would like to privately start taking control of your water needs, why not harvest your [...]]]> Encouraging news that the government are to hold a summit in aid of KZN’s poor water situation. Price rises and a lack of infrastructure for the poorer regions make KZN water situation one of the worst around the country.

If you would like to privately start taking control of your water needs, why not harvest your rainwater or re-use your grey water and start saving yourself some money and reducing the stresses on the grid. Contact us or request a quote.

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will address the province’s water crisis in a summit to be held before the end of the year, the party’s provincial secretary said on Monday.

The ANC found serious water shortages in northern Zululand and the Midlands, said ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala.

“Some people have no running water and they don’t have nearby rivers to draw up water from. The situation is very serious,” he said.

Studies had shown that more than 400,000 people in KwaZulu-Natal had no access to clean water.

The provincial government last held a provincial water summit in 2005.

Zikalala said the ANC would invite government think tanks, water experts and the community to the meeting.

“We want to make sure that the resolutions of the previous summit are implemented. We want to deal with this water crisis,” he said.

More than four million people in South Africa have no access to clean water.

South Africa also has ageing infrastructure, unauthorised connections to its systems and a lack of skills and capacity in all three spheres of government.

- TIME Live

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WHILE most young people enjoy the extended school holidays and World Cup, high school pupils from [...]]]> A fantastic workshop is going on in the Gauteng at the moment, dealing with issues concerning the environment and especially water conservation. Bad water habits are learnt young, and any program that deals with water issues is money well spent.

WHILE most young people enjoy the extended school holidays and World Cup, high school pupils from Gauteng host cities took time out to learn more about life skills, the environment and its conservation.

More than 400 Grade 10 and 11 pupils from various schools were randomly chosen to take part in a week-long camp from June 7 as part of the department’s water conservation campaign.

As part of the annual camp hosted by the department of water Affairs in Gauteng, this year’s project encompassed the World Cup theme, youth month and conservation.

Pupils were able to watch the soccer spectacle at their camp at the Ithuba Community School in Ekurhuleni.

The Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve was used as base camp.

The pupils woke up at the crack of dawn every day and climbed a hill at the nature reserve. Once at the top they waited for the sun to rise and then sang the national anthem.

“This is a great experience, but I wish we did not have to wake up so early,” said 17-year-old Thabisho Mokete.

One of his peers, Jaqueline Mbatha, said the camp stimulated her interested in environmental studies.

“I have learnt that for us human beings to survive, we need to look after our environment, starting now,” Mbatha said.

They were also taught about the flora and fauna, recycling and how to save water, and about the indigenous plants and how to conserve them.

They also had to go into a township and learn about water purification.

The department is in partnership with the Ekurhuleni municipality and the East Rand Water Care Company .

Motivational speakers and life coaches were also roped in to encourage the youngsters.

One of them was young entrepreneur Billy Guy Bhembe. He had the pupils’ undivided attention when he told them about how he persevered and worked against all odds to become a successful businessman .

“Do not let anyone stand between you and your dream. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Bhembe said.

Project manager Basil Chaza said there were plans to take the three-year-old project nationally.

“Young people do not have anything to do during school holidays, so we decided to come up with a holiday camp to engage with them and make a contribution to their development,” Chaza said.

He said it was important for municipalities to not compete against each other all the time, but to take time to learn from one another.

“We have to start engaging the youth from an early age. We should start at primary schools and teach them from an early age,” he said.

Chaza, a passionate motivational speaker, is also deputy commissioner of the South African Scouts Association.

Department of water affairs spokesperson Dumisani Mahlangu said they wanted to take in more youngsters but were unable to because of budget constraints.

“Raising funds was not easy. But we managed to work with the little we managed to secure,” Mahlangu said.

- The Sowetan

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