The Garden Route drought is far from over, especially for towns being fed from the Wolwedans dam ( Mossel Bay ). The decision has been taken by the Mossel Bay Municipality to spend in excess of R140m to create a seawater desalination plant, to produce an additional 5 mega litres of water a day. This could have been avoided if the municipality were to encourage citizens to harvest rainwater into water tanks and to re-use greywater for garden irrigation or toilet flushing purposes.

Although none of the business has been encouraged to do so, Shell Truckport (Mosselbay) and Bay Car Spa collectively decided to reuse all greywater from their car wash. Water Rhapsody installed a greywater re-use system, which allows them to harvest all the used car wash water (passed through a filtered system) and then the water will be re-used for toilet flushing purposes.

They will no longer draw fresh municipal water to flush the toilets. By re-using the carwash greywater, they are able to save 1,000,000 litres of water a year!

Ryno Van Zyl from Bay Car Spa said: ‘The drought forced us to look at ways to reduce our water usage, but this is something we should have done a long time ago. We are very proud that we’re able to re-use the water and this is something we’ll continue to do, even when there’s more water available. Our water bill has tripled during the last few months, due to the dam levels being below 25%. We are looking forward to your new bill, as we’ll be using 50% less water than before. After seeing the system in operation, I decided to install a similar Water Rhapsody greywater re-use system at my home.’ (22 June 2010)

First things first. You need water to drink. You race off to the shops, only to find a long queue, patiently and some not so patiently waiting to buy bottled water . You may be among the lucky ones that get in first. I once saw people in a holiday town, fight at the Spar for a limited number of Bread Rolls that were becoming available. Imagine if the scarce resource were water!

Then you would think of a longer term plan. Get a water tank. Quickly! So you could harvest any coming rain off your roof. But think about this. There are only about 140,000 water tanks made each year in South Africa. And we have a population of about 50 million. So there would be a mad scramble for water tanks until they were sold out.

Isn’t it just more sensible to buy a water tank, get it installed by Water Rhapsody with the necessary filters, so that in the unlikely event of your town running dry for what ever reason… you and your family will have some degree of protection? Contact us to get a quote to install a water tank now and protect your most important assets, your family.

Posted by Water Rhapsody

The rainy season is here to stay for then next few months and what a great time it is to conserve water and harvesting rain. You can easily store this rainwater it in what could be your own private water supply (Water tanks). We are receiving many call from people like you that are wanting to make the most of the season and install a water storage tanks. With this in mind you can find a few tips and things to think about when choosing and installing your very own water tank.

Firstly, you must make sure that you have the right space to install your water tanks. Never order your water tanks without deciding the spot where you are going to install your water tank because the size of your water tank and the shape of the water tank will depend very much on the space available.

Secondly, you will have to make sure that your roof is prepared well for water collection. Your Water Rhapsody dealer would be able to advise you on your roof’s suitability. If the roof of your building is not prepared properly, then you will get very little out of your rainwater tank installation.

Use proper methods to keep the debris out of the water tank. If the debris enters the water tank, it will make the water collected less usable for personal purposes. We manufacture self cleaning “Rainrunners” that are designed to keep debris out of your water tanks. With your self cleaning Rainrunner properly installed you will never have to clear out leaves and debris that could hinder your rainwater harvesting system.

You must also remember to install insect proof screens or protection to keep insects and mosquitoes entering into the water tanks. All these protections will help you keep the rain water collected clean and usable even for your personal needs.

Above all make sure that you buy good quality water tanks that will last for years so that you are not spending more money on replacing or repairing your water tanks frequently. All our tanks have a 5 year manufacturers warranty that are able to withstand Cape Town’s weather conditions.

Another point to take into consideration when you choose the right sized water tanks is the anticipated usage and your family size so that you can manage even the driest summers without fearing water scarcity issues.

People have been washing their hair with rainwater for years. Some claim it has mystical benefits, that your hair will be shinier, more manageable or that the water is cleaner because it comes from the sky. There is a grain of truth to all this. Rainwater is soft water. Hard water doesn’t wash as well as soft water. You can’t lather as well and it leaves more soap scum behind. If you are accustomed to a hard-water hair wash, then rainwater will do wonders for your hair. Those people who most benefit from a rainwater hair wash probably live in a hard water area.

Rainwater still has chemicals in it, but it won’t contain some the heavier chemicals found in hard water. Rainwater is not safe to drink without filtering it first. If you live in an acid rain area or any place where a layer of smog casts a pallor over the town, I’d avoid using rainwater for hair. Luckily, most of the hard water areas are in the middle of the United States. Lot’s of good clean rainwater there.

For those of you just looking to save water, washing your hair with rainwater is one of many ways in which you can preserve the potable water in your faucets.

Source: Planet Green

Showering in chlorinated water

Chlorine is a toxic chemical. It is used in water treatment to reduce and kill forms of biological agents, such as bacteria and viruses found in water systems. Chlorine is harmful to you when you drink it and when it is absorbed into our skin and inhaled into your lungs when you shower. It has been estimated that the “shower steam” in your bathroom can contain up to 100 times the amount of chlorine than the water, because chlorine evaporates out of water at a relatively low temperature. If you bathe or shower in unfiltered tap water you are inhaling and absorbing chlorine into your body.

Conditions contributed to or aggravated by chlorine exposure:
· Respiratory Conditions (nose, throat, lungs, sinuses): Asthma, bronchitis
· Hair: Dry, brittle
· Skin: Dry, flaking, dandruff, itching, rashes (especially with infants and children)
· Eye conditions

Chlorine is universally used to chemically disinfect water. It kills germs, bacteria and other living organisms. Chlorine readily passes through the cell wall and attaches to the fatty acids of the cell, disrupting the life sustaining functions. The human body is composed of billions of cells. Most people are aware that the quality of their drinking water can be improved by filtering their tap water or buying bottled water. However, many do not realize that they are addressing only a part of the problem.

One half of our daily chlorine exposure is from showering. Chlorine is not only absorbed through the skin, but also re-vaporized in the shower, inhaled into the lungs, and transferred directly into the blood system. In fact, the chlorine exposure from one shower is equal to an entire day’s amount of drinking the same water. Drinking filtered or bottled water only does half the job.

Source: Heart Spring

Some excellent advice; save water by using rainwater to wash with, for your health.  If you want to drink rain water harvested off your roof, it needs to be filtered.  According to many women, especially those with long hair, rainwater IS the best water to wash your hair with.  Apart from hard water problems, many municipalities over-chlorinate the water supply.  White River (Mpumalanga, South Africa) municipal water is dreadful to drink because of this.  And don’t think you are getting aware from chlorine exposure if you filter your municipal water for drinking but use it unfiltered for showering.  As the article above points out, half of your daily chlorine exposure is from showering! Rainwater does seem to have other ‘feel good’ properties that are difficult to define.  Chlorinated water from swimming pool backwash water can also have a negative effect.  As an environmental consultant in Mozambique, I sometimes took advantage of a tropical downpour for an impromptu shower (clean water is hard to find in the middle of nowhere!).  The feeling of well-being after taking a ‘rain shower’ is difficult to describe.  Washing a vehicle with rainwater also seems to give superior results compared with municipal water.  I’ve always wondered what the long term effect of all the chlorine in municipal water has on a car’s paint job; I have no desire to test it on my vehicle!

Harvesting rainwater is therefore good for your health (and your hair!), saves water and saves you money.  Rainwater tanks provide a useful reserve of water in times of water shortage.  Water Rhapsody’s rainwater harvesting system is designed to augment or even supplant your existing water supply but is integrated into the plumbing so that if either source is depleted, the system automatically switches over to the other source.  The number of water tanks, your roof area and your rainfall statistics determine how much rain water you can harvest and store.