Simply Green - Sustainable Living in the 21st Century - Dec 2020

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SUSTAINABLE LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

HELP TO PROTECT THE WORLD’S MOST PRECIOUS ASSET

FROM THE EDITOR ONE OF the best aspects of putting together this month’s magazine was the positive water news coming in from around the world.

We decided to concentrate on water because, while some of us might have forgotten the drought which almost saw our taps switched off, the crisis is far from over.

What has been encouraging is seeing the many individuals and organisations lobbying governments around the world and doing all they can to help turn the tide on the expected water scarcity trajectory.

It reminds me that while some things are out of our hands, there is so much we can do, both on the global stage and in our own backyards, to make this a better world.

I hope this month’s magazine informs you but mostly that it inspires and teaches you with advice on how we can all make a difference in turning around the water situation.

There are still so many people without access to basic needs, such as water and sanitation, and we urge governments to find ways not only to change this but to do it in a way that is water wise.

A big cheer for all of you fighting tirelessly to ensure clean and abundant water sources for future generations.

The future truly is in all our hands.

No step in the right direction is too small.

CONTACT US

PUBLISHER: Vasantha Angamuthu vasantha@africannewsagency.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR PROPERTY: Vivian Warby EDITOR: Vivian Warby vivian.warby@inl.co.za FEATURES WRITER: Terry van der Walt terry.vdwalt@inl.co.za DESIGN: Kim Stone kim.stone@inl.co.za

Have a wonderful read!

rby Vivian Wa

PRODUCTION: Renata Ford Renata.ford@inl.co.za BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Keshni Odayan Keshni.odayan@inl.co.za

IF YOU WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINES email vivian.warby@inl.co.za

SALES: Charl Reineke charl@africannewsagency.com

P I CT URE : J AK OB O WE NS

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DO JOIN US ON: @simplygreenSA

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SG c o n t e n t s

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2 Letter

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From air to water

3 Contents

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All about groundwater

4 The water crisis

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Inter national good news

8 WWF solutions to the crisis

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

10 Attaining water security

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Did you know?

14 Cape Town: Saving the oceans

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Clever ways for

16 Gauteng: Saving the rivers 18 KZN: Rivers and ocean clean-ups

20 Aquaponics

households to save water

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Gardening: Grey water

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Grey water dos & dont’s

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IOS feature: This school

24 Stor mwater insights

is on board

27 Water stewardship

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Hydroponics

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GLOBAL

CRISIS

The worldwide need for freshwater

Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to presume that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater – the stuff we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with – is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use.

PIC TU R E: PEXE L S P I X A BAY

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GLOBAL

CRISIS

As a result, about 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7bn find water scarce for at least one month of the year, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Inadequate sanitation is a problem for 2.4bn people – they are exposed to cholera and typhoid fever and other waterborne illnesses.

Two million people, mostly children, die each year from diarrhoeal diseases.

PIC TU R E: TOP E A A S OK E RE

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GLOBAL

Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed the growing human population have become stressed.

Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming

CRISIS

too polluted to use. More than half the world’s wetlands have disappeared, the WWF says.

Agriculture consumes more water than any other source and wastes much

of that through inefficiency.

Climate change is altering patterns of weather and water around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others.

PIC TU R E: RE D CHA RL I E

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GLOBAL

CRISIS

At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population could face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more, the WWF reports.

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PIC TU R E: BRA DY K NOL L

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Solving the water crisis

P ICT UR E: W YNAN D VA N PO ORT VL IE T

The WWF has six priorities for action to resolve the disaster precipitated by people who have ignored the needs of nature

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Over time, humankind has degraded the freshwater environment. Now it is time to do something

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Allowing rivers to flow more naturally: Water management for power generation, flood risk reduction, or to store and deliver water for agricultural, industrial or domestic uses, changes the quantity, timing and variability of flows and levels.

This contributes substantially to loss of freshwater biodiversity.

Maintaining or restoring ecologically important attributes of hydrological regimes improves biodiversity outcomes.

The science and practice of environmental flow assessment enables identification and quantification of these attributes.

Environmental flows have already been incorporated into policies in many places and examples of environmental flow implementation from a range of contexts have been documented.

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Reducing pollution: Many pollutants affect freshwater ecosystems, including nutrients from sewage, fertilisers or animal waste; synthetic chemicals; pharmaceuticals; plastics and sediments mobilised by agriculture, forestry and mining. Management responses include improved wastewater treatment, regulation of polluting industries, improved agricultural practices and nature-based solutions such as the restoration of floodplain wetlands. Evidence is needed on sources, pathways and impacts of some pollutants, including microplastics and pharmaceuticals, to inform policy and management.

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Protecting critical wetland habitats: An estimated 30% of natural inland wetlands have disappeared since 1970.

Causes include land conversion to agriculture and reduced hydrological connectivity after the building of dams and levees.

Climate change can also alter the distribution and extent of wetlands, while forestry, mining

and urbanisation have affected freshwater habitats downstream.

Community conservation of habitats, the designation of formal protected areas, land-use planning and habitat restoration programmes can all support habitat protection.

Systematic freshwater conservation planning tools, which take account of hydrological factors, can help prioritise freshwater habitats for efficient conservation and restoration investments.

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Ending overfishing and unsustainable sand mining: The exploitation of living organisms and minerals affects freshwater biodiversity through the removal of individuals and their habitats and, indirectly, through alterations to freshwater ecosystems. A wide range of freshwater life forms are exploited, including plants, invertebrates (such as crabs), fish, amphibians, reptiles (including turtles and their eggs), water birds and mammals (such as otters).

The 2016 Rome Declaration, convened by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, describes steps needed for sustainable freshwater fisheries.

Extraction of riverine minerals, especially sand and gravel for use in construction, is increasing rapidly in many regions. Solutions can include reducing demand for construction materials (eg through improved design), substituting new concrete with recycled materials and improved supply chain standards.

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Controlling invasive species: Freshwater habitats are especially susceptible to invasive non-native species and impacts range from behavioural shifts of native species to the restructuring of food webs and the extinction of entire faunas.

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significant, reaching billions of dollars in the US alone.

Preventing the introduction of non-native species is the best way of limiting their impacts.

A few countries have taken steps to identify and prioritise these species for action. In the US, invasive species advisory councils bring together regulators, researchers and stakeholders to address research, policy and management needs related to non-native species.

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Safeguarding and restoring connectivity: Many freshwater species depend on connectivity between upstream and downstream river reaches, or between river channels and floodplain habitats, for their migration and reproduction.

Dams and weirs fragment upstream-to-downstream connectivity and, through flow alterations, also affect river-to-floodplain, surface-togroundwater and season-toseason connectivity.

Coherent planning for energy and water, including strategic siting of new infrastructure and consideration of alternative options, can balance connectivity maintenance with hydropower generation or water storage.

Removal of obsolete dams can restore connectivity in degraded ecosystems. Removal or repositioning of levees can improve river-to-floodplain connectivity, while enhancing water storage and/or conveyance on floodplains as part of flood-risk management strategies.

The Emergency Recovery Plan is rooted in practical actions that have already been implemented somewhere in the world. The challenge now is to move from ad hoc freshwater conservation and restoration successes to a strategic approach that achieves results at a far larger scale.

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Working together towards water security PI CT UR E: AS E P A BDUL RA H MA N

Climate change, a soaring population and no further opportunity for building dams mean South Africa has to find solutions to its water woes: reuse, recycle and rethink

BY BENOĂŽT LE ROY

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P I CT URE : K A RT I K AY S HA RM A

PIC TU R E: ALEX POW ELL

Portia Mbau gathers a feast f r o m h e r g a rd e n .

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The springs that originally supplied the Witwatersrand, now the country’s economic hub, were rapidly exhausted.

SOUTH AFRICA has always been challenged by water scarcity and, driven by rapid industrialisation following the discovery of gold in the 19th century, has its economic centre in Gauteng where there is little water locally available.

For those who might not know the history of water since the gold rush in South Africa, maybe I should summarise it.

Gauteng has a population of 15 million and is growing at 4% a year due to its large, sophisticated economy inherited from the mining era.

The Witwatersrand sits on the watershed of two river systems. The springs that supplied the initial sources of water were rapidly exhausted.

The Rand Water Board was established in 1903 to provide ground water to the Witwatersrand from Springs in the east and Randfontein in the west.

The construction of the Vaal Dam was started in the early 1930s and was completed in 1938. Water was then pumped uphill by 400m and 80km to the Reef.

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We have several other interbasin transfer schemes to get water to our coal-fired power stations and petrochemical complexes in the eastern parts of South Africa. The Orange River transfer scheme provides water to Eastern Cape farmers and Port Elizabeth from the Gariep Dam. In a nutshell, South Africa has around half the annual rainfall of the global average and much of that water is in areas with relatively low demand.

To add to this, recent studies show around 50% of our rainfall is received over less than 10% of our land mass and that the western parts of the country have been receiving progressively less rain in the winter rainfall areas since the 1980s.

So, what we are experiencing are less predictable rainfalls, probably due to climate change, a rapidly growing population and, to top it all, no area left for damming up of our rivers as we are literally dammed out. The big questions are what can we do about it, what will it cost, and when will our water security be reinstated?

The solution is summarised as:

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South Africa is experiencing less predictable rainfalls, probably due to climate change.

PIC TURE : A L E X BL OCK

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No more damming of our rivers can happen as we are literally dammed out.

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traditional surface and groundwater reserves are fully allocated, with dams losing more and more to evaporation due to rising temperatures. The last currently feasible option is to desalinate seawater, an infinitely renewable source and an integral part of the natural water cycle. This technology is now mature with prices touching on parity with traditional surface water prices due to energy reductions, engineering improvements and machine learning to optimise plant performances. South Africa launched its water and sanitation strategy last November with a hefty price tag of R900 billion due to at least two decades of underinvestment.

Benoît le Roy is an environmental alchemist with 40 years of water engineering experience and chief executive and co-founder of the SA Water Chamber which was established to represent the private water infrastructure sector to collaborate with the government to implement the national water and sanitation master plan. This will re-industrialise the water sector, provide skilled jobs and the opportunity to again export water-related products and expertise globally.

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P I CTU RE : PAT RI CK HE ND RY

• Reduce • Reuse • Rethink Reduce is where we reduce our water footprint, inefficiencies in the system and pollution of our water resources which also serves to reduce the available reserves. Our municipalities lose 41% of the water in their delivery networks, where the global average is 25%, and the desirable target is less than 15%. This is a low-hanging option yet to be seized, except in Cape Town which embraced the concept a decade and half ago.

Reuse is where we reuse water for agricultural, commercial, industrial and urban sectors. This means recycling at industrial level and producing nonpotable water from, for example, treated sewage for industrial and commercial purposes. Treated sewage has been used for drinking water in the city of Windhoek, Namibia, since 1966 and in Beaufort West and Ballito in the past decade or so with great success.

Rethink We have to rethink our water resources and preserve what we have by not polluting it with untreated sewage, industrial and agricultural discharges. Then we have to access new sources of water, seeing that our

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Turning the tide to clean our oceans

Our Blue Planet, much like our bodies, is made up of mainly water and our existence depends on it being a healthy and balanced ecosystem. Plastic, oil and chemical pollution threaten this delicate balance but organisations like Sea The Bigger Picture are helping IN THE two and half years Sea The Bigger Picture has been operating we have conducted 30 large beach clean-up events aimed at giving the community an opportunity to get involved and learn about recycling in a fun and interactive way.

We partner with eco-friendly brands, collect data from every clean-up we do and make ecobricks from the non-recyclable waste we pick up. We also make some recyclable waste available for use by local artists.

We use the events as a way of highlighting the desperate need to change the way we interact with and use single-use plastics.

The beach clean-ups often provide a shocking eye opener to the severity of the problem for the people who join us.

These 30 events have removed just short of 10 tons of plastic and other waste from the beaches across Cape Town.

At the end of every clean-up the waste is sorted and every item is counted and captured in our database. This data shows us what items are prolific on which beaches. Eighteen months of data collecting is starting to show interesting results. The most common items found are cooldrink bottles and lids; cigarette butts; sweet wrappers; chip packets; lollipop sticks and polystyrene food packaging. The polystyrene is so abundant it’s impossible to count it all.

DEFENDERS OF THE BLUE: So far, we have introduced 60 children to the ocean through 1 4

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our Defenders of the Blue programme. Facilitated by two of our directors Shamier Magmoet, co-founder of #STBP, and Stefanie Titus, Defenders of the Blue is our youth citizen science programme. We connect youth from the Cape metropole to the magic of the underwater world and the fascinating intertidal zones through: • Snorkelling • Tasks that extend their knowledge and their team and leadership skills.

We have also implemented a new structure for Defenders of the Blue which we are very excited about. Dr Nasreen Peer and Dr Nelson Miranda from Argonaut Science wrote the curriculum with the introduction of marine science at high D E C E M B E R

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school level in mind. We’ve just completed our first set of sessions with an amazing group of kids who responded very well.

As our beach clean-up events continue, we have dropped the locations that have better municipal presence and will focus our efforts next year on areas that need a lot of intervention, such as the Black River mouth.

Our aim is to be one of the custodians of our ocean. Our dynamic team of passionate and dedicated individuals formed the NPO #SEATHEBIGGERPICTURE Ocean Initiative in August 2018 as a proactive means to: • Physically clean up the ocean, beaches and rivers.

Mitigation is vital while legislation is still not in favour of the environment.

P I C T U R E : JE N T H E O D O RE

4 THINGS WE’VE LEARNT ALONG THE WAY • Humans prefer convenience to consciousness. That said, we realise an eco-friendly lifestyle is still very expensive and is a privilege a large part of our population does not have. We cannot change behaviour and connect communities to nature while people are hungry and living in severe poverty.

• Our out of sight, out of mind mentality is our biggest downfall.

Changing it through education is often slow and frustrating but it’s the only way we’ll make sustainable change.

• The production of single-use plastics cannot continue at the present rate; mitigation and education only go so far. As long as convenience items are produced and available, communities will buy them.

• The ocean is more polluted than we originally thought – as much as 90% of the plastic pollution is under the surface and lining the seabed.

TOP: On the Defenders of the Blue programme, children are given a chance to experience the underwater world of tidal pools through swimming and snorkelling.

RIGHT: Kids are shown how to take photos underwater.

BOTTOM: The team and participants pose for an after-session photo.

• Create public awareness and inspire public involvement through beach clean-up events.

• Educate our youth and the public via our programmes and social media to inspire and inform them in an easily consumable way which will empower them to carry on the legacy and find new solutions to the environmental challenges we face.

• Teaching snorkelling for a hands-on approach to protecting marine life. We especially want to encourage youths who live at, or near, the coast who have not been exposed to the ocean in a safe, meaningful way.

• Engage with the media to promote ongoing awareness.

• Engage with the corporate and private sectors to help drive

positive change.

• Network with environmental groups, brands and individuals for a greater impact.

Our ultimate goal is for planet Earth to have the chance to heal and thrive.

We are fast saturating the oceans with plastics and if we protect and manage our oceans in a sustainable way, every living being benefits.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Come to our beach clean-ups and volunteer your time. This is a great gift which anyone can give.

Donate to the cause – our programmes are all publicly funded and we need your help.

Details are on our website and we are always open to chatting about how you can best help us.

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Plastic and polystyrene floating down the Hennops River in Centurion.

BELOW: The same section of the Hennops River at Centurion after the massive clean-up.

Cleaning up Citizen activists, NGOs, ward councillors and volunteers have made a difference by clearing rubbish from the Hennops River in Gauteng and want to expand their efforts across the country

BOXES AND RAISED BEDS In smaller gardens, wooden crates can be used for vegetables. They don’t take up too much space and can provide a good supply of food for the family table. In larger gardens, consider raised beds which provide the look and feel of the potagers and kitchen gardens of yesteryear.

Raised beds also provide a solution in gardens where soil quality is poor. Beds can be constructed out of wooden planks or bricks and rich topsoil and organic matter added before seeds are sown.

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ACROSS Mzansi people are wading into polluted rivers to remove plastic and other debris that poses a threat to delicate ecosystems, as well as threatening our water security. Among the many initiatives is Armour – Action For Responsible Management of Our Rivers.

This is their story.

Armour began in October 2015 in response to the decanting of raw sewage into the Jukskei River from Northern Wastewater Treatment Works, the largest in Gauteng.

Following a petition demanding accountability, organised by Armour and delivered to Joburg Water and private and state bodies across South Africa, emergency funding was allocated to tackle the worst problems at the works.

This led to the formation of the Jukskei River Working Group which brought together senior officials from Joburg Water, the City of Joburg, the national department of water and sanitation and a range of private sector bodies, including Armour, to monitor the works and its performance.

Armour then began working with other organisations involved in river and wetland health to create awareness of the challenges facing surface water.

It also set up a Facebook page to link citizen activists addressing these issues across the country.

Over the past two years, Armour has joined up with other activist NGOs involved in river and wetland clean-ups, including Fresh, Hennops Revival, Cetric Foundation of Diepsloot, residents of Tembisa, several residents’ associations around the Jukskei River and its tributaries, HelpUp in the Western Cape and Harrismith Water Heroes. These clean-ups have lifted tons of garbage from the rivers within the greater catchment area.

Armour was also co-facilitator, two years ago, of the formation of the Gauteng River Network which brought together dozens of organisations across Gauteng involved in the care and conservation of rivers and wetlands.

Armour’s aim, through dialogue and action, is to help bring about clean, living waterways and rivers across South Africa, starting in Gauteng. This will always be a collaboration across an ever-widening network of citizen activists and those authorities willing to accept their own accountability.

To reach this goal, Armour is continually seeking who and what to leverage to get the right human and material resources identified to effectively manage the Jukskei catchment system in Gauteng.

Armour is also using a very active Facebook to network with over 80 organisations involved in cleaning and rehabilitating rivers, wetlands, estuaries and beaches across the country.

The rivers, wetlands and ecosystems of which they are part benefit from these different initiatives. Clean waterways boost the physical, mental and spiritual health of populations that impact on these waterways.

They are the arteries of the land. They will give invisible energy where now they are often degraded, and sometimes lifeless, cesspools.

Readers can help by continuing to raise awareness of the power of citizen action to help cure the sickness of our waterways. Simply Green can encourage this movement by publicising the many private endeavours across our beautiful land.

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FIVE THINGS ARMOUR LEARNT ALONG THE WAY 1 Citizen action is a force for change – and encouragement for officials who want to make a difference but are constrained by the negative culture in their work environments.

2 Rivers and wetlands are visible symbols of the state of a nation.

3 Clean-up initiatives bring together people from across the traditional divides of society, breaking down barriers and creating common cause – a force for real nation-building.

4 Society has yet to discover the economic value in garbage.

5 Enforcing producer responsibility for their polluting products is long overdue.

TOP: Willem Snyman (in orange) of Fresh and his team clear waste caught in nets erected at a bridge over the Kaalspruit, a Hennops River tributary. MIDDLE: Tshwane mayor Randall Williams and Tarryn Johnstone of Hennops Revival work along the Hennops.

BOTTOM A clean-up on the Kaalspruit in Tembisa where 100 people, mainly residents, joined Armour and Hennops Revival volunteers. Over 1 000 bags of litter were removed.

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Separated at source. A collection of recyclable PET plastics is paddled out of the river for collection. It will be taken to a recycling centre to be reused.

We’ll fight the plastic flotillas on the beaches Durban prides itself on its long stretches of shoreline but when the Umgeni River comes down in flood, so does a flotilla of plastic debris which eventually runs aground on the beach. Among the many volunteer organisations that try to mitigate the mess is Adopt-a-River Eco Solutions. This is their story 1 8

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ALTHOUGH only recently officially formalised as a non-profit organisation, we have been involved in the river health environment for some time, engaging with communities and role players, including municipal and government officials.

We have a dedicated river-cleaning team permanently based at the Umgeni River mouth.

These community members have become the eyes and ears of this part of the river and have been able to report sewerage and illegal dumping issues as well as deal with solid waste. This particular team is funded by ADreach Group, a corporate that has been involved with this stretch of river for nearly two years.

We have connected with municipal officials to tackle pollution and sewerage incidents not only along this river, but across various KZN catchments.

We engage with local communities to assist with local river needs, especially in waste management.

Our main aim is to facilitate partnerships between corporate, government and community role players for the benefit of our waterways. This is followed up by structuring and implementing solutions to deal with river issues.

Everyone benefits from this – with every intervention we help communities and the environment and hope to slowly make a difference each day.

River team members benefit directly from the employment the team structure provides.

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3 THINGS WE’VE LEARNT ALONG THE WAY: 1 River issues are not as simple as one might think.

2 We have a huge waste management problem, beyond “littering”, and we need creative and new ways to address this issue, particularly along rivers and waterways.

3 Corporates can be huge change-makers.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Any support is helpful.

Spread the word and support local environmental initiatives.

Get your kids involved so they learn about the problem and are part of the solution.

Pressurise local stores to change packaging – there are alternatives to polystyrene and plastics.

Get more corporates involved because this means more teams, which means more rivers are taken care of.

Support local waste recycling initiatives.

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ABOVE: One team’s gathering. Once the larger items are removed we go back for the smaller tricky pieces like polystyrene, which is our worst enemy.

BELOW: After the Umgeni River floods, vast and unsightly quantities of plastic litter the beach at the river mouth.

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From a small aquarium to an aquaponic farm His child’s home aquarium school project and his discovery of organic microgreens is how Taher Noorbhai waded into the world of aquaponics 2 0

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P I CT URE S: P EX E L S P IX A BAY, SA URA BH WAS A IK AR

5 THINGS I WISH I HAD KN0WN EARLIER 1 The fish need to be fully grown to sustain the plants.

2 You don’t need experts to sell their version of best methods.

3 You need mentors like Shaun Thomas to succeed.

4 Try several different methods in small systems before deciding on a particular type.

5 Plants are a whole business on their own. I wish I had learnt to grow veggies before embarking on my quest.

not a weekend hobby.

It’s a 24/7, 365 days a year, full-time living organism, involving everything from feeding fish, to plant grooming, to scaring away birds and getting rid of pests.

My build began in October last year when I bought fish and water and air pumps. I didn’t need a biofilter but I put one in for good measure.

The system runs from the 6 000 litre pond, to the 5m² “media” bed, to the 15m² “raft bed”.

A pump takes the water back to the pond and the air pump is used both for the pond and raft bed.

The greenhouse is 48m², with a 25m² growing area and 6m² for the pond. In total, 1 200 to 1 500 plants can be accommodated by companion planting.

The general rule is 20 litres of water per fish and 10 per square metre of growing area.

Eager to start, I could not wait nine months for my fish to mature and produce sufficient biomass to sustain the plants, so Shaun suggested I add hydroponic nutrients to my system that were beneficial to plants and not harmful to fish.

The definition of organic requires soil, so food grown by hydroponics and aquaponics is not strictly organic although it is the most naturally grown produce. Who cares about terminology when you are eating healthy vegetables that are free of chemicals and come directly from the farm to the table? * Taher Noorbhai runs Organic Veggies & Microgreens in Lenasia and is involved in setting up a school to teach growing techniques for use in vertical gardens where space is limited.

THESE TWO introductions saw me sitting on the net and YouTube for hours in 2017, listening to people talking about growing their own vegetables at home. That’s when the light bulb in my head lit up like LEDs on steroids.

Fish feeding plants, plants cleaning the water for the fish and providing food for them.

An enclosed system that uses just 10% of the water needed in conventional farming and less land, growing bigger, healthier and tastier produce? It sounded too good to be true. I started visiting local aquaponics and hydroponic sites, trying to decipher the different opinions and methods of growing vegetables as naturally as possible.

Hydroponics is a method of enriching irrigation water with nutrients and transporting this water to the roots of plants.

Aquaponics uses fish to enrich water to feed the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish in a closed loop. Sounds simple, right? However, like most success stories, there were hard parts and it involved a lot of work. Combining the two systems and learning about them, trying not to kill either, was not easy.

Fish need to be fed, water must be clean. And the more fish you have, the more air is required in the water. The plants can be started from seed or you can use seedlings.

I then met Shaun Thomas at MyAquaponics, who politely told me I had mixed up the theories I had got from YouTube and they wouldn’t work.

Then I realised how much goes into an aquaponics farm. It’s not a school project, it’s

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From small beginnings, Taher Noorbhai’s aquaponics system has grown to produce vegetables he sells at local markets.

Aquaponics

O X F O R D D I C T I O N A RY: Noun: A system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic creatures supplies the nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.

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My journey to water security

Simple ways to fresh and healthy food

Healthy plants thrive in a simple aquaponics system which requires a mere 45 litre top-up of water each month. PICTURE: GRAHAM NICOL

BY GRAHAM NICOL

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DURING 2016, I started doing research into water-wise gardening. I have always had a big veggie garden, which consumed a lot of water.

From my research, I started changing my soil to a water absorber rather than a water repellent type of soil. This was achieved by adding compost and organic materials which absorb and retain water.

I installed four water tanks (32 500 litres combined) to collect water from the roof. On average, these tanks fill up three times a year with rainwater. That is 100 000 litres of free water per year.

Morning dew on my roof condenses and gathers in the water tanks, giving me an additional three litres per square metre.

My research introduced me to hydroponics and aquaponics. I decided on aquaponics because it uses no chemicals. I started small and grew from that. Now I have 40 goldfish that use about R45 worth of food a month. I add 45 litres of water a month to refill the aquaponics system. I supply three households with fresh herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, green peppers, aubergines, cucumbers and more.

Water wise is a way of life and requires a mind shift. You too can save water by doing research to see how much water is used to produce some of the products you buy often.

* Graham Nicol is a consultant who lives near Robertson in the Breede Valley in the Western Cape.

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My journey to water security To stop precious water going down the toilet, Clare Rothwell’s family has a low-tech loo that saves about 14 litres a day.

Lessons learned young have served me well P I CT URE S: P EX E L S P IX A BAY, TA NYA T ROF Y MCH UK

Clare Rothwell tells how her journey started at a very young age I’M A teacher and artist. My family is originally from Springs, Gauteng. My journey towards water security begins there. I remember a daily activity when my brother and I were in preschool was to go into the garden after we’d had our shared bath, and “help” our mother to move the grey water pipes around to try to save the plants.

When we were a bit older, our family got a cement water tank. We discovered that it was great fun to put mattresses inside a water tank, lie on them, and get our friends to roll it down the small hill in the garden. Fortunately, the tank was still intact when it was installed.

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reusing grey water and harvesting rainwater from a very early age.

Years later, my brother installed two water tanks at our home in Joburg.

There was always more than enough water for the garden, including the vegetables which my mother has always grown. We used a 30 litre bin as an overflow container. If we emptied it during the day, it was often full the next morning. We discovered that 30 litres of dew fell on the roof most nights.

In 2015, I bought a house in Bathurst in Eastern Cape. Many houses here have no municipal water connections but ours does. When we moved here, the municipal water

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was so brown the washing was dirtier after it was washed than before. Our alterations to the house included a 25 000 litre reservoir. We have used it for the garden and to supplement municipal water for our household of four for five years. It is now our sole source of water.

I have reduced my water use further by installing a very low-tech composting toilet. This saves at least 14 litres per day, with (so far) one person using it.

I have also invested in an aquaponics system which will allow us to grow vegetables for the household in a way that uses 10% of the water required to grow vegetables in the ground.

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Clean stormwater drains save lives

PI C TU RE : J O NAT HAN F ORD

Climate change is causing severe storms and floods which claim lives and destroy homes and businesses.

That’s why the City of eThekwini has called on citizens to help keep stormwater drains clear TERRY VAN DER WALT STORMWATER drains are critical in preventing flooding and loss of life, and with climate change increasing this danger, the city of eThekwini has launched an appeal to citizens to help keep drains clear of debris.

The appeal coincides with the launch of the city’s Forecast Early Warning System (Fews) to save lives in the event of a flooding disaster.

EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda launched the state-ofthe-art Fews last month, the first disaster management and data monitoring tool of its kind on the African continent. The system will enable the city to better manage and mitigate the effects of flood-related disasters.

“The Fews system allows us to be proactive by identifying threats to informal settlements in advance by monitoring adjacent

river levels and other stormwater systems that directly affect them,” says Kaunda.

“Notifications are triggered when the system produces warnings after certain levels are breached, allowing a better response within these areas for mitigation purposes.”

Our stormwater drains are important infrastructure to help prevent flooding during times of heavy rain.

The drains channel the excess water to areas such as rivers and the harbour, making life safer for communities.

Keeping our stormwater drains clean and free of debris is critical in preventing flooding.

Keeping our drains clean is also important to ensure that our rivers, water resources and environment remain unpolluted and safe for communities to use.

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BLOCKED STORMWATER DRAINS RESULT IN:

 Flooding  Damage to homes  Damage to infrastructure  Loss of life  Damage to crops  Impact on the environment  Impact on the ocean and sea life

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City workers unblock a drain in Isipingo. Litter and debris block our stormwater drains which leads to flooding and environmental pollution.

PICTURE: SUPPLIED

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? Stormwater pollution is a problem we can all do our bit to solve. We can reach our goal of clean and healthy waterways and river systems by taking the following actions: 1 Throw your litter in a bin, no matter how small.

2 Stop illegal dumping.

3 Ensure that chemicals, oil and fatty liquids are not poured down the drain.

To report blocked stormwater drains call 0803 111 111 or email: eservices@durban.gov.za

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Healthy householders’ tips for clean stormwater As stormwater flows over driveways, lawns and pavements, it picks up debris, chemicals, dirt and other pollutants. Anything that enters a stormwater system is discharged untreated into the water bodies we use for recreational and other activities. Polluted run-off is one of the nation’s greatest threats to clean water VEHICLE AND GARAGE

PICTURE: EBERHARD GROSSGASTEIGER

Recycle used oil and other automotive fluids at participating service stations.  Don’t dump these chemicals into the stormwater drain as they go directly into the rivers and streams.  Use a commercial car wash or wash your car on the lawn or other unpaved surface. Minimise the dirty, soapy water.

You can also use environmentally friendly detergents.  Check your car, boat, motorcycle and other machinery and equipment for leaks and spills. Carry out repairs urgently.  Clean up spilled fluids with absorbent material and don’t wash the spills into the stormwater drain. Remember to properly dispose of the absorbent material.

HOME REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS  Before beginning an outdoor project, locate the nearest stormwater drains and protect them from debris and other materials.  Sweep up and dispose of construction debris such as concrete and cement properly.  Use hazardous substances such as paints, solvents and cleaners in the smallest amounts possible and follow the directions as required. Clean up spills immediately and dispose of the waste safely.  Store hazardous substances properly to avoid leaks and spills.

RAINWATER HARVESTING  Rainwater is a naturally pure, clean and sustainable source of water. All countries are dependent on rainwater. Many countries, like South Africa, have very erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns with many regions experiencing seasonal rain.  If rainwater can be collected for future use, it will provide much-needed relief to our domestic water supply, as well as facilitate substantial cost saving on our municipal water bills.

Rainwater tanks are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate different budgets. Homeowners are urged to consider installing rainwater tanks to help with the water supply to their homes.

LAWN AND GARDEN  Use fertilisers sparingly and only if needed.  Plant indigenous plants and grass that are drought and pest resistant.  Use environmentally friendly pesticides.  Increase the amount of vegetated area in your garden.

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KEEP OUR

STORMWATER SYSTEM CLEAN Our storm water drains are important infrastructure to reduce the risk of flooding during times of heavy rain. The storm water drains channel rain water to rivers and the sea thereby reducing the risk of surface flooding and the associated risk to communities.Keeping our drain clean is also important to ensure that our rivers, water resources and environment remain unpolluted and safe for communities to use. Clean storm water drains mean clean water for communities.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? Storm water pollution is a problem we can all do our part to solve. We can reach our goal of clean and healthy water ways and river systems by taking the following actions:

THROW YOUR LITTER IN A BIN

STOP ILLEGAL DUMPING

DON’T POUR CHEMICALS AND OIL DOWN THE DRAIN

Information provided by: Coastal Stormwater and Catchment Management Department, Engineering Unit

TO REPORT BLOCKED STORM WATER DRAINS:

073 148 3477 080 131 3013 eservices@durban.gov.za

Investing in a green recovery Ecological healing is achievable in South Africa provided that everyone from government to corporates and everyday citizens plays their part TERRY VAN DER WALT

B

OLD steps are needed to ensure water security in a postCovid-19 society and these steps need to be inclusive and green.

Through collaboration and fine-tuning of existing structures in the water sector, a green recovery in South Africa can be achieved.

This emerged from the 6th Annual Water Stewardship Event, convened online recently, which grappled with the issue of water provision.

More than 200 representatives from the water sector took part, including government officials, and people from industry, finance, civil society and development organisations.

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The virtual event was jointly hosted by the National Business Initiative, the Strategic Water Partners Network, and the Royal Danish Embassy, and was supported by Germany’s development agency, Natural Resources Stewardship Programme.

By embracing the power of partnerships between the private, public and civil society sectors South Africa could close the water gap by using a water stewardship approach, said Trevor Balzer, acting directorgeneral of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Balzer urged local and international investors to “come and invest in our water D E C E M B E R

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infrastructure which remains one of the most meaningful ways to create jobs, enable economic growth, reduce inequalities and support small, medium, and microenterprises”.

The Danish ambassador to South Africa Tobias Elling Rehfeld said South Africa could achieve water security through investments towards a green recovery.

“Water is the front line of our defence against Covid-19,” he said, adding that the pandemic offered opportunities to the private sector to participate in a green recovery.

In a panel discussion on governance, where it was

PIC TU R ES: FR A NS VA N HE E RDE N, W I LM Y VA N ULFT

STEERING SA TOWARDS WATER security is often described in futuristic terms – warnings we could all face scarcity or a lack of access to clean drinking water. The reality is that many municipalities, corporations and people are already experiencing some degree of water insecurity.

Lack of access to water and sanitation not only holds back economic growth, but also

emphasised that governance was the entire water sector, not just the government, Mike Muller, visiting adjunct professor at Wits School of Governance, asked why South Africa had not made greater progress in addressing water security.

“We need to pay attention to how we govern and manage our water. It is not about climate change, it is not about corruption, it is about weak leadership in government that allows corruption.”

Barbara Schreiner of the Water Integrity Network suggested we deal with corruption in the same way Ukraine

livelihoods for ordinary people.

Within the next decade, South Africa is expected to reach a 17% deficit between its water supply and demand.

To close this gap, we need to make difficult trade-offs between basic human and environmental needs and the needs of agriculture, key industrial activities such as mining and power generation,

and growing urban centres.

By working together to identify shared solutions and implement strategies, policies, plans and programmes, much can be done.

Water stewardship is therefore becoming increasingly important for all our water sector players.

The concept of water stewardship refers to water use

has done, by encouraging public participation in the procurement processes.

A lack of accountability linked to the governance, management, and oversight of the sector itself, added to the challenges posed by Covid-19, delegates were told.

Martin Ginster, co-chair of the Strategic Water Partners Network, said strong systems and institutions were vital in driving effective water management and bringing water and sanitation to more citizens.

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that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial.

Water stewardship activities include a focus on conserving, restoring and managing water resources in a sustainable manner through engaging all stakeholders. This includes the private sector, civil society and government-

acceptable quality to prevent and fight future pandemics.”

Rehfeld urged the water sector to ramp up investments to achieve the country’s water and sanitation goals, which would in turn contribute to economic recovery.

Alex McNamara, water and climate manager with the National Business Initiative, said investments should build water resilience and reduce future risks.

“Covid-19 has reinforced the importance of access to safe and reliable water, and we have a responsibility to learn from our experience over the past year to build back greener, stronger and better,” he said.

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initiated action at catchment or site level.

The only way to ensure a balance between demand and supply of water will be for each sector, organisation and individual to make their contribution. All key stakeholders should work together.

– Strategic Water Partners Network

We need to pay attention to how we govern and manage our water.

It is not about climate change or corruption, it is about weak leadership in government that allows corruption.

MIKE MULLER, VISITING ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT WITS SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE

Turn fresh air into water Harvesting humidity in the atmosphere is the best way of unlocking fresh water for the billions of people and animals on the planet and mitigating against the effects of regular – and worsening – drought cycles

IT IS said that necessity is the mother of invention. And so it was with the devastating drought that plagued South Africa for the past five years. It started in KZN and spread westwards across the country. While most of the country is now in a rainfall cycle, it will not be long before we enter a drought cycle again.

I started Air Water, an atmospheric water-generation company, during the drought cycle.

The coming drought cycles are expected to get worse, leading to massive famine, misery and the death of many millions of people.

But the good news is that this need not be the case.

I believe I have the solution to the crisis in Air Water.

Air wate is water that is made from the humidity in the air. Air is drawn across a cooling coil and the resultant condensation is passed through a filtration and UV light sterilisation process, making it perfectly pure for drinking.

The next world war will be over water, however, there is no reason that the world needs to go to war over something that is readily

available almost everywhere.

We just need to change our thinking and realise that the solution is right under our noses.

There are 100 million, billion litres of water in the atmosphere and it is stable. There is never more and never less. Water is a reusable resource that is used by all living things on the earth. Once used, it is passed back into the atmosphere.

This is known as the hydrological cycle – making it 100% sustainable.

Man, over thousands of years, has dammed up rivers to create stores of water for his convenience.

The problem in today’s age is that the rainfall patterns have changed because of climate change and the dams are not as dependable as they used to be. Water crises are presenting themselves all over the world and more often.

And not only is water shortage a problem but the lack of clean (potable) water for human consumption is of great concern.

I believe harvesting humidity is the answer as it involves making water where it is needed as opposed to taking water to where it is needed.

OPINION PIECE BY RAY DE VRIES

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DID YOU KNOW? About 790 million people (11% of the world’s population) are without access to an improved water supply while a further 1.8 billion people (25% of the world’s population) are without access to adequate sanitation.

A monitoring network will help to inform the management of groundwater a pilot project with WWF which included asking residents to monitor their borehole use.

Working with hydrogeology experts GEOSS South Africa, the idea was to establish a “citizen science groundwater monitoring network” in two pilot areas. These were Newlands, a mainly residential area known for its springs and high winter rainfall, and Epping and Airport Industria, a mixed residential and industrial area. Both saw a sharp increase in boreholes and wellpoints being dug during the drought.

The groundwater monitoring was done using 12 data loggers – six in each area – fitted on to boreholes in private residences, schools and businesses 3 0

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PI C TURE: WWF/EI TA N PRI N CE

Unsustainable pumping of underground water resources is a threat to ecosystems, such as wetlands, and to Cape Town’s ability to survive periods of drought BY VIVIEN HORLER

to collect data with every change of season.

This work has already improved understanding of groundwater use and has set in motion a growing monitoring network that will help to inform the management of groundwater.

Greater Cape Town gets most of its groundwater from three aquifers: • Table Mountain Group Aquifer: a huge aquifer beneath the Western Cape mountain ranges.

• Cape Flats Aquifer: A shallow aquifer, in excess of 400 km², stretching from False Bay to the Tygerberg hills and Milnerton.

• Atlantis Aquifer: about 130 km² in size, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the town of Atlantis.

There are about 22 000 private boreholes registered with the city in greater Cape Town but there are probably many more which are not registered.

Residents are allowed to extract no more than 400 cubic litres a hectare a year, or the equivalent of just 100 litres a day on a property of 1 000m².

In a report on the project, the WWF says the aim is to grow a monitoring network in Cape Town’s residential and business areas, in order to better understand how groundwater responds to both borehole pumping and rainfall recharge.

The WWF also wants to know how many boreholes there actually are in residential areas.

“All this information is critical if we are to understand how much water is being utilised and how the aquifers are responding to abstraction.”

The Danish government recently gave R11 million to this work under the banner of the Table Mountain Water Source Partnership.

The importance of groundwater

AT THE time of the Day Zero crisis in Cape Town, many people sank boreholes and wellpoints so they could water their gardens and fill their pools.

The trouble is that groundwater is an important resource in times of drought. The WWF says unsustainable groundwater extraction is a critical risk to water resources, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, such as wetlands, and Cape Town’s water resilience.

To better understand what was happening to the city’s groundwater supply, AB InBev – which has the right to use water from the Newlands springs – funded

GLOBAL GOOD NEWS NEWEST ADDITIONS

 Environment America reports that 100 bison have been released on the Wolakota Buffalo Range. These are the first of an eventual 1 500 that will be managed there by the Rosebud Sioux tribe. When the reintroduction is complete, it will be the largest Native American-owned buffalo herd. The release is part of a 10-year plan to expand conservation of this iconic species, which was nearly driven to extinction at the beginning of the 19th century.

RENEWABLES VITAL IN KENYA

S PA I N ’ S A M B I T I O U S P O W E R P L A N S the 750bn euro investment it expects to be needed to fund the move away from fossil fuels. By 2050, the strategy plans a 90% reduction in emissions, the reforestation of 20 000 hectares and the recovery of 50 000ha of wetlands.

Renewable power will rise from 20% to 97%.

SPAIN’S prime minister Pedro Sánchez plans to shut 69% of the country’s coalfired power stations by next year.

The Guardian reports his government has announced plans to go carbon neutral by 2050. Spain has committed to spending 27 billion euros (about R459bn) on green energy – a down payment on

After near extinction, bison are to roam the Wolakota Buffalo Range once again

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RENEWABLES provide more than 93% of Kenya’s electricity and

 For more than 30 years, a community in the Philippines has been reforesting and protecting a mangrove site, which has expanded from 50 hectares to 220ha, according to a report

by HappyEcoNews.

This has resulted in the successful transformation of a once-barren mudflat into one of the few remaining large patches of mangrove forest in the country.

The replanted mangroves shield the community from the extreme impacts of typhoons. Work is still needed to stop illegal fishing and logging and to protect the area from the effects of climate change.

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the government plans to expand further so everyone in the country has access either to the grid or community solar power by 2022.

The Guardian reports the carbon footprint of the population of 47 million is tiny compared with wealthy nations, so economic, – rather than climate – considerations are the main drivers for an energy transition.

Solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal energy is increasingly cheaper and more practical than fossil fuels. The main challenge is securing the initial investment.

GLOBAL GOOD NEWS For first time, solar and wind make up most of the world’s new power generation NEWEST ADDITIONS

CITY OF CAPE TOWN’S WATER EFFORTS RECOGNISING the risk of a recurrence of the drought that almost led to Day Zero, the City of Cape Town is increasing the use of groundwater, building a desalination plant, clearing water-hungry invasive plants and working towards a water re-use scheme, according to a statement by city authorities earlier this month.

“The strategy has already committed to delivering more than 300 million litres of additional supply a day over 10 years,”

Xanthea Limberg, the city’s mayoral committee member for water and waste, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Researchers from Stanford University and the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said parts of the world with a similar climate to South Africa, like California, southern Australia, southern Europe and parts of South America, could face their own Day Zero droughts in the years ahead.

 A Channel 4 News report has hailed the work of British designer Ryan Yario, whose range of kiddies’ clothing withstands the growth spurts that put parents out of pocket. Pleats in the stretchy fabric allow the outfits – pants and tops – to expand as the child grows, accommodating them from 6 months to 3 years of age. This not only cuts back on spending money on clothing that children outgrow, it also reduces the amount of fabric that ends up on dump sites. The outfits are weather-resistant and waterproof.

P I CT URE S : ANA S ING H, E NGI N A KY URT, P RAVE E N KUM AR MATH I VAN AN, UP ESH MANOU SH

 Bloomberg Green reports that for the first time, solar and wind made up the majority of the world’s new power generation. Solar additions last year totalled 119 gigawatts, representing 45% of all new capacity, according to their research. Together, solar and wind accounted for more than two-thirds of the additions. That’s up from less than a quarter of all new power plants in 2010.

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Reduce Reuse Recycle SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

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P I CT URE : E RI K M CL E A N

It’s so simple:

SECTION 24 of the South African Constitution states: Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.

And that is why it is important we all try our best at practising the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

It has become a global trend aimed at securing a healthy environment, which means safer water sources and less pollution on the land on which we grow food.

Reduce is all about cutting down on products that are over-packaged, buying in bulk which uses less plastic, and avoiding disposable items that end up in landfills.

Reuse gets you into the habit of reusing something over and over, or even using it for a different purpose such as takeaway containers used for picnic plates. It can also be about repairing toys or appliances rather than replacing them.

Recycling is about doing your bit to ensure less waste goes to landfill sites or ends up in the environment.

Most convenience packaging can be recycled, and if you separate glass, metal, paper and plastic at source you can ensure it goes for recycling instead of a landfill site. That’s making a difference.

The Science Guy Bill Nye puts it this way: “If you want grown-ups to recycle, just tell their kids the importance of recycling, and they’ll be all over it.”

FAST FACTS

Did you know?

THE STUDY of changes in climate is called paleoclimatology. Evidence of climate change throughout Earth’s history is found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs and layers of sedimentary rocks. By studying these, paleoclimatologists have worked out that current warming is happening about 10 times faster than the warming that occurred after the last ice age.

SOURCE: GIVING COMPASS/NASA

IN 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was formed to collect and assess evidence of climate change.

Since then, it has produced a series of alarming climate models. Under these models, most of the planet’s ice cover would melt by the end of this century and trigger irreversible consequences, such as flooding strong enough to engulf entire cities.

DECEMBER 11 is International Mountain Day It was declared as such by the UN in 2002 to bring attention to threats posed to mountains by climate change and exploitation.

Mountains host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and 30% of all Key Biodiversity Areas.

Of the 20 plant species that supply 80% of the world’s food, six originated in mountains: maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes and apples.

More than half of humanity relies on mountain freshwater for everyday life.

P I CT UR E: J ORG E F E R NA NDEZ

SOURCE: GIVING COMPASS/BBC NEWS

WATER is in perpetual motion and changes form from rain, hail and snow, through to ice and glaciers in the water cycle, which has been going on for millions of years.

This means that the water you sip today could be the same water dinosaurs drank millions of years ago.

SOURCE: FAST.NET

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Easy water saving tips for your household So you want to do your bit to help create water security in Mzansi but you’re not too sure where to start or what to do? Here is a bucket full of ideas

P IC TU RE : K HA L IL

BY BENOÎT LE ROY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND CO-FOUNDER OFTHE SA WATER CHAMBER

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P IC TU RE : A MY REE D

t

HE FIRST step towards assisting in South Africa’s water security is to reduce our national demand.

With households directly consuming around 30% of the water, it’s important to do our bit in our homes. Here are a few tips to get started:  Ensure that your water meter is functional and that there are no leaks in your water network. Turn off all your taps and take the water meter total count. Return after an hour or so and see that the meter reflects the same numbers. If the counter has increased then you have a leak and need to call out a plumber to assess.  Record your water meter total weekly, more or less at the same time, to track your consumption and maintain the required vigilance.  Replace your shower heads with highefficiency ones.  Replace your hot and cold taps with high-efficiency mixers.  Do not reduce the toilet cistern volumes as generally the more modern toilets require the exact volume to flush effectively.  If it’s yellow, let it mellow, as this can save you significant volumes of water where two toilets in a home of four can easily account for around 30% of your total water consumption.  Showering in two minutes is a game changer, although maybe not as relaxing as bathing.  Try to plant a water-wise garden. This takes time and money but is really worth the effort in the long run.  If you have a swimming pool you should acquire a cover. This will save significant amounts of water and chemicals.  Water the garden after 6pm and before 6am only to avoid most of the water being lost to evaporation.  Use a high-pressure cleaner for paving and car washing as it uses around 90% less water than a hose and works better.  If you have the funds, invest in rainwater storage tanks to harvest water from your roof to water the garden.

More sophisticated approaches that are relatively expensive can be applied to recover grey water, for example.

Recent model dishwashers and washing machines are all water-economy rated and generally very efficient, so check the water rating and not just the energy rating. Washing dishes and clothing this way is by far the most efficient, water and energy wise.

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A grey water garden is the recycling of bath, shower, hand basin and laundry water, which can be used to irrigate your garden. Plus, greywater also contains nutrients derived from the residues and soaps, which can feed and nourish the soil to produce lush plants.

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Grey water dos & don’ts At home, grey water is the water from showers, baths, basins, washing and dishwashing machines that is not contaminated with faecal matter. This water can be put to a second use, as long as you stick to a few guidelines. Setting up a grey-water system to use in the garden and toilet cisterns in the house will cut down your use of potable drinking water.

DO

DON’T



Stop using grey water if someone in the



Ensure your system keeps all grey water on



Ensure the products you use are biodegradable



Divert grey water to the sewer during rainy periods. household gets sick.

Keep using grey water in the same section of the garden, unless you use clean water in between.

   

your property.

Use grey water that has disinfectants and bleaches in it.

Use grey water from washing soiled clothes or nappies.

Use grey water from kitchens, unless it has been treated.

Use grey water that is still hot as it will kill beneficial organisms in the soil.

and garden friendly.

 

Let your pets drink grey water.

Use grey water on fruit, leafy vegetables or herbs that are eaten raw.

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Store untreated grey water for longer than 24 hours.

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P I CTU RE : E KR UL I L A

 

Wash your hands after watering with grey water.

F O C U S O N K Z N INDEPENDENT THE

on Saturday

About growing gardens and young minds

P IC TU RE : T HI R U N

It’s never too early to learn about growing honest produce and rearing free-range chickens, as the children at The Birches Pre-Primary School in Pinetown are appreciating every day BY DUNCAN GUY

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P IC TU RE S: DU NCA N GUY

THE BIRCHES Pre-Primary School in Sarnia, Pinetown, is a nursery in more ways than one.

While 6-year-old Motheo Nkhoesa is having fun pushing a trolley, it’s not a toy but one that is carrying parent Sipho Thabethe’s aloe vera and other plants to his car. Thabethe plans to start a garden this summer.

At the fortnightly sale from the school’s farm stall in the parking lot, another parent, Caley Roos, reflects on how the school’s “green” influence has rubbed off on her daughter, Arizona.

“She wants to start a vegetable garden but, for now, the dogs won’t allow it.”

Everything sold at the store is grown or raised on the school property, which is also the stomping ground of 103 kids. The school has won a string of environmental and entrepreneurship awards.

Drainpipes feed rainwater from the gutters of the school’s prefabricated buildings into huge buckets. Another feeds water into a food forest where monkeys take pawpaws, bananas and granadillas that have been purposefully planted, along with butternuts that have cropped up on the compost heap.

“The monkeys eat a lot but they leave a lot,” says principal Scilla Edmonds, who values water highly having grown up in water-scarce Botswana.

In that country, the name of the currency, the pula, is the Setswana word for rain.

Free-range eggs are a hit. They come from the chicken coop beside the playground, which the children enter to feed the chickens.

“I say ‘come chickey’,” says egg seller Arizona, describing how it’s done.

Other behind-the-scenes work involves transplanting shrubs into recycled plastic bottles designed to include a water reservoir.

Harvesting seeds from plants forms part of the food production cycle. A notice under a handsome bean plant, growing in a tyre, reminds anyone tempted to pick a bean that they are not for eating.

Among the many plants grown at The Birches is iboza (ginger bush), a traditional Zulu remedy for sore throats.

“People have proudly shown us how it works,” says Edmonds.

A teacher has also demonstrated that geraniums grown on the property can cure earache, she adds.

The Birches’ “greenness” extends into entrepreneurial activity. Bottles of worm tea and non-toxic weed zapper, alongside goods such as bead bracelets and ice lollies, form part of little enterprises the children run.

Edmonds says the way any other school can achieve The Birches’ level of self-sufficiency is to “take it one step at a time”.

“And join organisations like Eco Schools, Water Explorers and Teach a Man to Fish. They’re great to share ideas with and to set goals by, one year at a time.”

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Hayden Schultz, 6, uses water harvested from the roof at The Birches Pre-Primary School in Sarnia, while transplanting a plant with guidance from principal Scilla Edmonds.

Behind-the-scenes work involves transplanting shrubs into recycled plastic bottles designed to include a water reservoir.

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Motheo Nkoesa on trolley duty when the car park at The Birches Pre-Primary School in Sarnia takes on the look of a farmers’ fresh produce market.

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Hydroponics is becoming increasingly popular because it uses a fraction of the water required in conventional gardening. KZN local Brenden Gee takes us on a hike through his farm

Hitting the hydroponic highway

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5 TIPS FOR BEGINNER HYDROPONICS.

FAR LEFT: B renden Ge e sho ws the thriving r o o t system s on the sprin g onions they gro w.

1Just start. You will make mistakes. That’s okay.

2 Document everything.

There is so much to understand when it comes to trying to recreate nature that you might forget important details that you could learn from, rather than repeat. As long as you are failing forward you are going in the right direction.

3 Gravity is your friend.

Water will always find the path of least resistance. Pump your water up and let gravity do the rest for you.

4 The right environment.

Remember, when planning, that you have to try to recreate nature. Pay attention to the basics of what a plant needs not only to survive but to thrive. This means, above the ground, wind, light and carbon dioxide and, below the ground, oxygen, water and nutrients.

5 Have fun. You will get pleasure from growing plants. Plants are alive – if you enjoy spending time tending to your plants, your plants will reward you.

GEESHYDRO is a hydroponic farm which Cameron Blair and I began in April. We are using it to train schools how to grow vegetables and our farm is used as a visitors’ centre where people can learn the ins and outs of hydroponics.

Cameron and I both worked in different capacities in the travel industry before the pandemic. I was running European coach tours. Cam is a travel videomaker.

With the travel industry on hold because of the lockdown, we decided to do something important with our enforced downtime. Along with the help and support of my dad Peter Gee, we began building a hydroponic farm in his umbrella factory Acacia Umbrellas in Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal.

We went into this knowing nothing about plants, hydroponics or creating an

LEFT: Stra wberries were the first crop to be planted a t the hydroponic farm .

B OTTOM: C am eron Bl a i r clo wns around with basil plants, which a r e a fa vourite with visi t o r s to the GeesHydro fa r m .

WHAT IS HYDROPONICS Hydroponic gardening is the process of growing plants in a closed-loop and sealed system where nutrient-rich water is pumped to the roots of plants, which are supported in sand, gravel or similar medium, without the use of soil.

Hydroponic gardens use just 10% of the water needed for growing in the ground in the traditional way, which has led to its increasing popularity.

Noun: the process of growing plants in sand, gravel or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil.

environment for our plants to thrive. All we knew was we were building the future of farming.

YouTube was our go-to and within two months we had built it. All our leaks had been plugged, our strawberries had arrived and it was time to start planting.

We have 10 individual systems which consist of four runs of 9m each.

We have one large balance tank of 1 000 litres.

We fill this up from filtered water and add our nutrient recipe and then balance the water’s acidity.

Once we have made sure our water has the right amount of nutrients we release it into three separate tanks of 500 litres each – these act as our reservoir to the entire system.

The water gets pumped into a smaller reservoir that is above the farm. This reservoir 4 2

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fills and we use gravity to feed each individual system equally.

The water then travels down the pipes that hold the plants.

The plants are held in place using pellets which sit in 5cm net pots. The water then returns to the reservoirs. The only water that we consume is the water absorbed by the plants.

We encountered many challenges that we just didn’t have answers to. We played to our strengths. Cam got his camera out, I began running virtual tours of our farm to attract more like-minded people who might have gone through similar issues. This led our to offering free actual tours of our farm.

Over a month, we had over 250 people visit us including the team from uShaka and students from Thomas More College.

Each question asked and every comment that was made brought D E C E M B E R

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more valuable information.

Now we are in the fortunate position of knowing how to keep pesky pests like aphids away, by using companion planting.

And, would you believe it, the crop most people are interested in is basil!

Over the past several months we have created a community of people who are interested in what we are interested in and are all on a journey to grow happier, healthier food in a way that is sustainable and eco-friendly.

Our aim is to continue to build cost-effective and easy-touse systems for people to use at home, and to use our farm to educate as many people as we can about the future of farming.

Farming in urban areas not only brings food closer to the consumer but it also utilises space effectively and uses 90% less water than traditional farming methods.

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