While I was in Cape Town and Simon's Town there were water regulations set to help reduce the use of water since their reservoir was running low. Even at that time they were talking about bringing in desalination ships to help provide water for consumption. Since I have been back I have been keeping up with the water problems and how much worse they are now.
Today I read an article that really shows how bad that water issues have become. This is something that we, in America, take for granted and complain about if the water is shut off for whatever reason. We complain about being able to only water our lawns once a week in the summer. Yes, we talk about water conservation when the lakes a getting low and drought is getting us so that we have to maybe water once every other week but to think about only being able to use 12 gallons of water per person or get down to a little over six gallons per person is overwhelming. In looking at how much water we waste per day makes me feel ashamed yet I continue to do things that "waste" water - filling up the bathtub to soak in it just because I want to. Not forgetting to shut the water off as I brush my teeth - I have gotten better at this overall and don't do it but every once in a while. Running the water constantly as I was dishes individually instead of making a small soapy water set in the sink to wash my dishes in. For my yard I do have drought tolerant/native plants for the summer and my grass is also drought tolerant so I know I am making a difference there.
What I see wasteful is people who water their yards several times a week and have it so that they are watering the street/sidewalk as much as their yard. I get it's hard to get the edges without getting water somewhat on the sidewalk so I do take that into consideration. Also people who water their yard when we've had a good rain or my favorite - watering while it's raining. What's the point?! People also don't take into consideration the times of day they water. I see so many people watering their lawns at 2pm in the summer and ask myself why they are wasting water and willing to burn their grass.
I know I'm not perfect and there is a lot I can improve on to help conserve water and I am working on those things - we just need more people to realize that what is happening in Cape Town could very likely happen in Austin, Texas or anywhere else in the U.S.
Here are some other articles on the severity of the drought and water crisis in Cape Town.
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/cape-town-weather-forecast-back-to-hot-hot-hot/
http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/22378811/enduring-shadow-day-zero
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/11/africa/cape-town-rain-day-zero-intl/index.html
https://www.wired.com/story/cape-town-sets-out-to-de-salt-the-sea/
https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/the-solution-to-cape-towns-water-crisis-is-obvious-but-it-will-cost-us-20180212
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/11-cities-next-up-for-water-crisis/
https://qz.com/1200949/cape-town-water-crisis-poses-risk-to-public-health/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/africa/cape-town-water-campaign-intl/index.html
http://earthsky.org/earth/day-zero-approaches-as-cape-towns-water-runs-out
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/9/16964416/cape-town-water-crisis-day-zero-south-africa
Today I read an article that really shows how bad that water issues have become. This is something that we, in America, take for granted and complain about if the water is shut off for whatever reason. We complain about being able to only water our lawns once a week in the summer. Yes, we talk about water conservation when the lakes a getting low and drought is getting us so that we have to maybe water once every other week but to think about only being able to use 12 gallons of water per person or get down to a little over six gallons per person is overwhelming. In looking at how much water we waste per day makes me feel ashamed yet I continue to do things that "waste" water - filling up the bathtub to soak in it just because I want to. Not forgetting to shut the water off as I brush my teeth - I have gotten better at this overall and don't do it but every once in a while. Running the water constantly as I was dishes individually instead of making a small soapy water set in the sink to wash my dishes in. For my yard I do have drought tolerant/native plants for the summer and my grass is also drought tolerant so I know I am making a difference there.
What I see wasteful is people who water their yards several times a week and have it so that they are watering the street/sidewalk as much as their yard. I get it's hard to get the edges without getting water somewhat on the sidewalk so I do take that into consideration. Also people who water their yard when we've had a good rain or my favorite - watering while it's raining. What's the point?! People also don't take into consideration the times of day they water. I see so many people watering their lawns at 2pm in the summer and ask myself why they are wasting water and willing to burn their grass.
I know I'm not perfect and there is a lot I can improve on to help conserve water and I am working on those things - we just need more people to realize that what is happening in Cape Town could very likely happen in Austin, Texas or anywhere else in the U.S.
Here are some other articles on the severity of the drought and water crisis in Cape Town.
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/cape-town-weather-forecast-back-to-hot-hot-hot/
http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/22378811/enduring-shadow-day-zero
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/11/africa/cape-town-rain-day-zero-intl/index.html
https://www.wired.com/story/cape-town-sets-out-to-de-salt-the-sea/
https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/the-solution-to-cape-towns-water-crisis-is-obvious-but-it-will-cost-us-20180212
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/11-cities-next-up-for-water-crisis/
https://qz.com/1200949/cape-town-water-crisis-poses-risk-to-public-health/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/africa/cape-town-water-campaign-intl/index.html
http://earthsky.org/earth/day-zero-approaches-as-cape-towns-water-runs-out
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/9/16964416/cape-town-water-crisis-day-zero-south-africa
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