Be water wise and save the planet
JOBURG - Interesting facts about one of our most precious resources, water.
Maropeng’s spokeshominid Harry the Hominid wants everyone to know that there are some children who never see rain or drink fresh water. He added that although fresh water is so very valuable, people waste so much of this precious liquid – even without realising it.
“Maybe you have heard about a carbon footprint and how this is affecting our climate. But, did you know that you also get a water footprint? A water footprint looks at how much freshwater we use to produce the things we use or eat every day,” Harry explained
Harry said there is a difference between direct water use and indirect water use. “Direct water use is the way we use water for our personal needs, like washing and cooking. Indirect water use refers to how much water we use to produce the items we use or eat every day.” The food we eat often has a high water footprint because a large amount of water is used, for example, to grow and cultivate crops.
To illustrate the point, it takes only 180 litres of water to produce a kilogram of tomatoes, 100 litres of water per kilogram of potatoes, but it takes 2 400 litres of water to produce a 100g bar of chocolate and 16 000 litres of water to produce just one kilogram of beef.
“So if we eat less meat and more vegetables, we save water,” said Harry.
To celebrate National Water Week (South Africa) Harry suggests these water-saving tips:
- Try to eat more vegetables and less meat.
- Take shorter showers.
- Fix dripping taps and toilets.
- Collect rain water and grey water (dirty bath and dishwater) and use that to irrigate the garden.
“If we all try to save water there will be more water to go around and no one will be left thirsty. Let’s work together to keep our water footprint as small as possible,” Harry said in conclusion.
