Vaal Dam levels

McT said:
Just for edification, what do you deem as being "waste"?
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People must just be mindful when opening a tap and not let it run unnecessarily.

Repair leaks/infrastructure as soon as they occur, including the city/municipality.

Hosing of pavements. My neighbour used to do it. Glad she stopped, otherwise I would have reported her.
 
rph72 said:
People must just be mindful when opening a tap and not let it run unnecessarily.

Repair leaks/infrastructure as soon as they occur, including the city/municipality.

Hosing of pavements. My neighbour used to do it. Glad she stopped, otherwise I would have reported her.
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I was hoping it would be quite obvious, but thanks for helping the less fortunate understand. :)

Also, some people wash their cars every day, brushing their teeth with a running tap, taking a 20 minute shower but just standing there for 10 of those, etc. Thought these kinds of things were obvious, but apparently not.
 
Ho3n3r said:
I was hoping it would be quite obvious, but thanks for helping the less fortunate understand. :)

Also, some people wash their cars every day, brushing their teeth with a running tap, taking a 20 minute shower but just standing there for 10 of those, etc. Thought these kinds of things were obvious, but apparently not.
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Ignorance is bliss it seems.
 
rph72 said:
People must just be mindful when opening a tap and not let it run unnecessarily.

Repair leaks/infrastructure as soon as they occur, including the city/municipality.

Hosing of pavements. My neighbour used to do it. Glad she stopped, otherwise I would have reported her.
Click to expand...

Surely those who own pools are also wasting no??? I mean its a luxury.
 
I have been watching that graph for months and the current flow of 2400 is over triple the previous peak flow. Also the previous peak flow at about 750 and was during a top up from Sterkfontein. Insane amounts of water flowing in! Also, the wet weather forcast for the next few days will help more than usual as the ground is saturated so most of it will run into the Vaal if it hits the catchment area.
 
Cius said:
I have been watching that graph for months and the current flow of 2400 is over triple the previous peak flow. Also the previous peak flow at about 750 and was during a top up from Sterkfontein. Insane amounts of water flowing in! Also, the wet weather forcast for the next few days will help more than usual as the ground is saturated so most of it will run into the Vaal if it hits the catchment area.
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The sterkfontein outflow was 70 cumecs, by the way.

Strongest flow ever was 4700 cumecs in Feb 96
 
Sinbad said:
The sterkfontein outflow was 70 cumecs, by the way.

Strongest flow ever was 4700 cumecs in Feb 96
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Thanks! I must have misread the graph at the time. Any idea what the peak flow was this current wet season prior to this current influx?
 
Cius said:
Thanks! I must have misread the graph at the time. Any idea what the peak flow was this current wet season prior to this current influx?
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I think it was around 700 as you said. But the heavens opened when they opened sterkies ;)



Mon 16 Jan. Vaal Dam Level 18.68m. Full 59.15%. Inflow 747.57m3/s. Discharge 14.39m3/s. River Valves Open 1x100%/1x50%. Gates Open 0.
 
Waste: "of no economic or social value. Value is completely lost."

Topping up your swimming pool a) keeps the structure safe from cracks and b) protects the filter/pump from running dry and c) provides pleasure to your family.

Watering your garden at 12 noon and a lot of the water running down the street is a waste because a) that street water is lost with zero benefit to anyone and b) you can water at night when it is cool.

Washing your car is also protecting the value of the vehicle and keeping it clear and safe to drive. But do it less often. Use a pressure hose or bucket.

etc. It's logical
 
Water running down the street goes into the storm water system which goes into rivers.
Or it evaporates and falls as rain.

Cycles...
 
rph72 said:
Hosing of pavements. My neighbour used to do it. Glad she stopped, otherwise I would have reported her.
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Best for that is a high pressure cleaner. They use very little water and easily get the muck off.

ambroseg1 said:
Surely those who own pools are also wasting no??? I mean its a luxury.
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No more so than having a garden, especially something totally unnatural like an homogeneous green lawn.

rph72 said:
People just need to be mindfull of the fact that we are dealing with a scarce resource.
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Rather a poorly allocated resource. It's pretty clear that there is plenty of water, but it is not captured and distributed efficiently.
 
American High School Student Discovers Cheaper Way of Turning Salt Water into Drinkab

American High School Student Discovers Cheaper Way of Turning Salt Water into Drinkable Water

We need a technological breakthrough wrt desalination and this student might have it.

An Indian-American high school student has discovered an easier way to desalinate salt water into drinkable or potable water, a discovery that might go far in solving a worldwide shortage in drinkable water.

Chaitanya Karamchedu, who studies at the Jesuit High School Senior in Portland, Oregon, has developed a process that isolates drinkable water from the ocean in a cost effective way. Details of his discovery haven't been fully revealed but scientists that have seen it say it works.

"The real genesis of the idea was realizing that sea water is not fully saturated with salt," said Karamchedu.

By experimenting with a highly absorbent polymer, Karamchedu discovered a cost effective way to remove salt from ocean water and turn it into fresh water.
Click to expand...


More here
 
As a general rule, while I think that promoting consumer behaviour change is worth pursuing, I think is ultimately an inefficient and unreliable way to achieve the desired results because you simply cannot effectively and efficiently micromanage people on that scale. That being said, you need to define what the desired results are. In this case I would say two things.....

1) Reduce water usage/wastage
2) Increase water supply

Reducing water usage/wastage

- Repairs and maintenance of infrastructure (piping) is vital. Even a single underground pipe leak wastes obscene volumes of water.
- If there is no legislation to prevent large-scale industrial wastage, then some needs to be drawn up. We could then dispatch qualified, educated, inspectors to identify large scale wastage and work with the private industry to engineer solutions. (side note: If we're not doing this with electricity as well, we should be)
- I saw a documentary a while back where they poured huge amounts of buoyant black balls into a reservoir to essentially cover the surface and radically reduce the amount of evaporation. Apparently it was quite effective.

Increase water supply

We are surrounded by unlimited water on 3 sides. We just can't use it, so what about investing in megascale desalination? The technology has come a very long way in a very short amount of time, and the prices have dropped significantly. Apparently it's become quite cost effective, as long as it's funded and run by a private enterprise and not a parastatal. As far as I'm aware, it's already being used successfully in Israel and India...maybe other places too by now.

It would at the very least ease the burden, and would provide a nice level of protection against climate change.

It's a long term investment, but I like the idea of taking our fate into our own hands, rather than just hoping it rains enough to save us.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/534996/megascale-desalination/
 
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