Do you remember 2018, when we all worried about “Day Zero”? Headlines warned that Cape Town might become the first big city to run out of water, and many people feared that water would run out for a million homes during one of the worst droughts we have faced.

While the news talked about #CapeWaterGate, the Defense Force protecting water points, and the well-known phrase “if it is yellow, let it mellow,” we at Stellenbosch University faced our own challenges. How could we come together as a community to face this crisis directly?

We worked together and managed to reduce our water use by 45 percent. We did this through behaviour change campaigns and many interventions on campus and in residences, upgrading our water infrastructure, installing water-saving devices, and using smart meters to quickly find leaks. We also used rainwater and groundwater to top up the swimming pools and for irrigation, and shower and basin greywater to flush toilets. Our landscaping was redesigned to use water-wise plants and local species that need little irrigation.

Recent news articles remind us once again how important it is to conserve water in the Western Cape, which has limited water resources. Stellenbosch Municipality has now asked SU to cut our water use by at least 15 percent as the combined provision of water of Stellenbosch Town has become strained due to a very low level of Idas Valley dam. Acting now, helps protect our shared resources. Our water supply is limited, especially during the summer, and before things get worse, we must reduce consumption.

Since the University is one of the larger consumers of water in town, we have to make a combined effort to save water together with the community of Stellenbosch.

I am asking all students and staff to support our Campus Development, Infrastructure, and Services (CDIS) team as they work to help reduce our water use. This is not new territory for us; we’ve done this before. Our small behaviour changes saw us reduce our consumption during the 2018 drought by as much as 30 percent. We learnt that it was possible to live comfortably while only consuming a total of 50l of water per day per person. 

A few simple actions can save a lot of water. In our Environmental Sustainability Plan, SU promised to use less drinking water and limit the use of river water for irrigation. By 2020, we had already made great progress, including cutting municipal water use by 50 percent through upgrades and behavior change. In the past few years, however, we went back to our old habits and saw an increase in water consumption.  

SU consumes 1 358 Kl per day in February, which is the equivalent of one Olympic swimming pool of water. We need to save 272 Kl per day (to provide for losses as well), which requires a huge, combined effort from us all. I believe that every litre we save on campus helps make our municipality’s task easier and eases the pressure on our shared water resources. Every person on campus needs to thry to reduce their water consumption by 10 litres a day to reach our target. 

Here are some ideas to help you get closer to a target of saving 10 litres of water a day: 

• Keep your showers short: aim for 2 minutes;
• Turn off the tap while washing your hands;
• Report any leaks or faulty sprinklers to CDIS at (021) 808-4666;
• Encourage your friends and family to save water;
• Use a small cup with water to rinse when you brush your teeth;
• Only run dishwashers and washing machines when they are full; and
• Save water in laboratories and kitchens where possible.

Please help us to reach our target of saving at least 15 percent of our current water consumption on campus. Because every drop counts and every action matters.

Prof Nicola Smit,
Acting COO