With the dreaded Day Zero nearing everyone is trying to save every drop of water they possibly can. Whether flushing the toilet only when really needed, demanding everyone in the family bath using the same water or sharing a Vapre water bottle with a friend it’s clear everyone is on a fierce mission to prevent day zero. Big and small shopping malls have either switched off their taps or have gone green using rainwater harvesting systems.
But what about actually looking to the future when it comes to saving water? Well most Capetonians are preparing for the worst by installing these rainwater harvesting systems at their homes in Cape Town. This system works by harvesting the rainwater your gutter collects and funnelling it into a rainwater tank. Once the rain water is collected in the tank it can then either be pumped out to water the garden, used to fill the toilet cistern or if filtered properly with a reverse osmoses filtering system can be used as drinking water.
But with everyone preparing currently there is a huge shortage of rainwater tanks in Cape Town. Big companies like JoJo and ECO Tanks are under immense pressure to meet the demand as it gets worse and worse and with waiting periods of up to 18 weeks there is huge backlog orders. This has however given other smaller rainwater tank suppliers a chance to get their name out there and push their brand to the public. Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel for Capetonians.
One thing is for sure this crisis has woken up most of us to look into investing in rainwater harvesting systems and go completely off the grid as far as possible. You never know when that day may come when you open your tap to brush your teeth and it has run dry.
- Julian Venter works as CEO of Cape Waterproofing and offers rainwater tank installations as well as waterproofing solutions to the Cape Town area.
