JG Afrika’s Cape Town office is a case study in the positive outcome when staff buy into the sustainable use of resources and begin to actively focus on implementing water-saving interventions.
This concerted effort on our part, along with the effort being made by our clients and many others, has helped push back Day Zero.
JG Afrika began monitoring water and electricity use in 2011. Prior to the water restrictions, we reduced our water use by 24% from the baseline year. In 2017, with no clear end in sight for the drought, JG Afrika undertook additional interventions to continue reducing water use. This resulted in an outstanding 68% in reduction in consumption at our Pinelands office.
Our philosophy of measure, reduce, re-use then augment, has been used to assist university campuses, corporate offices and factories in the city assess and reduce their own water consumption.
Our philosophy of measuring, reducing, reusing and then augmenting has also assisted university campuses, corporate offices and factories in the city assess and reduce their own water consumption.
Our Sustainability & Business Greening team assesses, designs, implements and monitors tailor-made interventions for clients.
One such client is the University of Stellenbosch where the first phase of the water plan has led to a 25% saving in total campus water use and a 40% reduction in residence use – simply by installing water-efficient shower heads.
At a Cape Town school, the initial phase lowered demand by almost 80%, and future phases (including a rainwater harvesting system) could reduce reliance on municipal water by as much as 95%.
Moreover, our team of geohydrologists continue working with the private and public sectors to develop groundwater resources to supplement water supplies.
By understanding our client’s water needs, we are able to design a water management system that can reduce the demand; identify fit for purpose re-use opportunities and then consider augmenting supply.
In order to keep Day Zero at bay, continued efforts are required to maintain the 50 litres per person per day (#50litrelife) that Level 6B restrictions demand.