Cape Town are 80 days from running out of water

Jacovs

Chrongen wrote: »

Pfft...the 15l from the 90 second shower can be put straight into the dishwasher and washing machine and then redirected to the cistern. That's another four flushes.

Yes, my parents, who live in Cape Town, use their shower water to fill the toilet.
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

Chancer3001

What's all the weird talk about it not being transportable ?

How do you think they transport bottled water!?

Or get it to come out of your taps?

Government needs to buy water off somewhere else nearby to refill the reservoir. Sort out their desalination then

YFlyer

Could they not employ a few thousand Vedic Pandit to sing hymns for rain?

Oldtree

Desalination is one option.

They have a mountain and a sea, anybody down there notice the fog that even the cacti can live ofa in Namib...

They need great big fog catchers or some other method of extracting potable water from the moisture laden air. Dawwwwwww.

Can be solar powered too as someone previously suggested. Don't they've lots of gold and diamonds down there to pay for it?

Chrongen

wexie wrote: »

be a half decent chance that the great whites* round there would sort out some of the population increase as well

*sharks people before you suggest anything else

Plus more sharks in the water attacking bathers equals an opportunity for fishermen to catch sharks and sell the fins to the Japanese for soup. It's all good.

YFlyer

Oldtree wrote: »

Desalination is one option.

They have a mountain and a sea, anybody down there notice the fog that even the cacti can live ofa in Namib...

They need great big fog catchers or some other method of extracting potable water from the moisture laden air. Dawwwwwww.

Can be solar powered too as someone previously suggested. Don't they've lots of gold and diamonds down there to pay for it?

They should use all methods.

Colonel Claptrap

From the rivers, to sea, South African water will be free.

Doesn't have the same ring to it.

CarlosHarpic

Another result of government more obsessed with statemanship/profile than the day to day management of their nation by doing things like actually providing infrastructure. Ireland is excatly the same. Perhaps even worse.

You can always tell if a country provides infrastructure for the society. It's when you do not know who their politicans are.

In Ireland, we call our politicans by their first names and Dublin does not have a metro. In countries like Norway, Switzerland and Holland they build infrastruture and do not turn the death of a pop singer into a week of national mourning. Ireland is probably worse than South Africa.

Oh, if it were not for our rainfall being what it is, we would have a serious water shortage in Dublin already. That's why they need to tap the Shannon. But never mind about vital infrastructure...the abortion debate is raging!

Chrongen

Vita nova wrote: »

Maybe it's time to try towing icebergs (fresh water) from Antarctica. I know it's been proposed and rejected in the past but with modern technology and greater need, it could be viable.

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

Harry Palmr

South Africa's average rainfall is half the world average (under 500mm per annum) so a few years of relative drought is all that's needed with no alternatives.

Chrongen

Jacovs wrote: »

Yes, my parents, who live in Cape Town, use their shower water to fill the toilet.
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

Good call.

Del2005

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Not everywhere is like Ireland.

Yes because the corruption in South Africa makes our lot look like amateurs. I haven't seen our politicians building palaces for themselves since Charlie told everyone to tighten their belts

kneemos

Chrongen wrote: »

You can transport oil and natural gas. Plenty of wars of those. Water pipelines could be the new norm.

Not in any appreciable amounts,even if you had a fleet of tankers.
If you were a neighbouring country you could eventually build a pipeline to one or two cities to supplement your supplies but alternatives would be cheaper and more secure.

Oldtree

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

From the rivers, to sea, South African water will be free.

Doesn't have the same ring to it.

Sounds great in Afrikaans

"Van die riviere tot see, sal Suid-Afrikaanse water vry wees."

not so sure about Xhosa

'Ukususela kwimilambo, ukuya kolwandle, amanzi aseMzantsi Afrika aya kukhululeka.'

or Zulu

'Kusukela emifuleni, elwandle, amanzi aseNingizimu Afrika azoba mahhala.'

but i'm sure they'll come up with somthing

sbsquarepants

Chrongen wrote: »

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

Well, duh.

Obviously, you wrap the iceberg in tin foil first!

El Tarangu

Alun wrote: »

The desalination process, whether using distillation or reverse osmosis, is energy hungry and therefore potentially very expensive. If solar power is readily available and abundant in the location then that goes some way to making it more attractive but otherwise it's not the cheap and easy alternative many might think.

I understand that, but I don't see how they have many other options.

Chrongen

kneemos wrote: »

Not in any appreciable amounts,even if you had a fleet of tankers.
If you were a neighbouring country you could eventually build a pipeline to one or two cities to supplement your supplies but alternatives would be cheaper and more secure.

There are oil and gas pipeline crisscrossing Eurasia transporting these commodities everywhere and there are terminals at the end of these pipelines.

Besides, transportation costs only come into play based on the value of the load.

If a gallon of fresh water is worth 3 times a gallon of diesel then you can bet your ass it's profitable to transport the stuff anywhere.....even if the tanker is half full.

YFlyer

Jacovs wrote: »

Y
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

That was likely a lack of space issue.

El Tarangu

Chrongen wrote: »

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

The bigger the icecube, the less surface area will be in contact with the water, the longer it will take to melt.

The idea is not as mad as you think.

jester77

Rhys Essien wrote: »

I would think so.’Water Wars’ are predicated.This could be an opportunity for Trump to offer them a few desalination plants and gain a small bit of credibility.

Maybe they should sort out their own water issues first

El Tarangu

jester77 wrote: »

Maybe they should sort out their own water issues first

They're in trouble in California, too.

mugsymugsy

I find it crazy that on new builds in Ireland that we are not via government legislation insisting on collection of rain water to be used for toilets / washing machines / watering garden etc

Whilst we have no real bills for usage are wastage of water on non essential usage will continue

kneemos

Chrongen wrote: »

There are oil and gas pipeline crisscrossing Eurasia transporting these commodities everywhere and there are terminals at the end of these pipelines.

Besides, transportation costs only come into play based on the value of the load.

If a gallon of fresh water is worth 3 times a gallon of diesel then you can bet your ass it's profitable to transport the stuff anywhere.....even if the tanker is half full.

Oil is a commodity,you wouldn't be selling the water.

Dakota Dan

mugsymugsy wrote: »

I find it crazy that on new builds in Ireland that we are not via government legislation insisting on collection of rain water to be used for toilets / washing machines / watering garden etc

Whilst we have no real bills for usage are wastage of water on non essential usage will continue

If water charges were enforced all the above would be happening.

Jacovs

YFlyer wrote: »

That was likely a lack of space issue.

I dont follow.

listermint

Dakota Dan wrote: »

If water charges were enforced all the above would be happening.

Not really, If legislation dictated that this was a requirement on new builds it would be happening the same as you now see Solar PVs on all new houses.

Regulations!!

Rhys Essien

El Tarangu wrote: »

The bigger the icecube, the less surface area will be in contact with the water, the longer it will take to melt.

The idea is not as mad as you think.

Ice rooms were common with those big estate houses in Ireland back in the day.

Dakota Dan

They said on the 9th of January that they can get 150 million litres of water a day from the cape flat and Atlantis aquifers, makes one wonder if the media are making a mountain out of a molehill.

http://www.capetownetc.com/news/aquifers-cape-town-deliver-water-expected/

Colonel Claptrap

mugsymugsy wrote: »

I find it crazy that on new builds in Ireland that we are not via government legislation insisting on collection of rain water to be used for toilets / washing machines / watering garden etc

Whilst we have no real bills for usage are wastage of water on non essential usage will continue

New builds in fingal require rain water harvesters. Handy for watering the plants, but unfortunately not suitable for toilets.

wakka12

With current fuel resources/methods water desalination plants are incredibly wasteful and unsustainable. I think I read somewhere that they won't be viable until fusion power technology is available

And its not that big a deal anyway, there'll always be enough water reserved for drinking water so its not like anybody is going to die. There just wont be any water for toilets/showers/washing dishes