Written by Jamy Fredericks and Safiyyah Hattas

National Water Week focuses attention on the sustainable management of freshwater systems and is aimed at educating the public on our responsibilities to conserve water.

Water plays an essential role in our lives and in our environment. The importance of clean freshwater systems allows the water to be utilised by people to operate in everyday life, such as having access to clean drinking water. Water is also essential in agriculture as it helps contribute to efficient crop growth. It also contributes to sustainable ecosystem functioning in nature – clean water systems encourage the indigenous flora to utilise the resource for efficient nutrient intake. Additionally, clean water encourages an increased presence of bird life which contributes to various benefits to the ecological system.

World Water Day falls in National Water Week, which raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to clean water. Each year, a theme is set to strive toward a bigger goal set out by the United Nations which is to tackle the global water crisis, in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The Nature Care Fund team placed at various sites around Cape Town contribute to water conservation by conducting regular water quality monitoring tests that track salinity, pH, depth, dissolved oxygen, macroinvertebrate activity and other important factors. This ensures that issues are detected early on and mitigation measures can be actioned. Additionally, regular litter clean ups are done in the local water bodies, as well as invasive aquatic species removal. Environmental education sessions are conducted during school holidays and at public citizen science events on the sites. Another method used by the Muizenberg East team in particular are information posters on water saving techniques which are distributed to the residents that live in the area.

Everyone can conserve water at home by following these easy tips:

• Check for leaks,
• Close the tap when brushing your teeth,
• Take shorter showers and shallow baths,
• Collect rainwater or graywater to be used for washing vehicles, flushing toilets or watering your garden,
• Fill a sink of water to wash dishes, don’t do it under a running tap.

“Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, M.D.