With the city of Cape Town experiencing the worst drought in over a century, water conservation efforts and awareness are more important than ever. We all know that places like restaurants and gyms consume large amounts of water in line with the services that they provide, but that’s why they’re taking major action to help save water.
Restaurants in Cape Town have become a lot wiser in the water department and some of our favourite foodie spots are using innovative ways to help conserve water in the midst of Cape Town’s critical levels.
Chef Scot Kirton and his team at La Colombe are using their unsalted blanching water to water their herbs. Bree Street’s IYO Burgers are also using making use of a ‘reduce, reuse’ system. “We make sure that all our plants are watered using grey water and that the chips we boil are done in the same water that they are soaked in and that water is then used to irrigate,” says Jean-Marc Lenferna DeLa Motte of IYO Burgers.
Tribe Coffee Roasting are cancelling out the need for extra dishes by making use of paper and wooden coffee cups in order to save water. Nederburg uses alternative options to completely remove the need for water to keep drinks cool with their waterless wine coolers. The Nederburg wine coolers keep wines and any other beverage cold without the need for ice or water.
Restaurants aren’t the only water-saving heroes in the city’s time of need. Hotels such as Tsogo Sun are doing their bit by cutting back on washing towels and linen every day. The local accommodation spot, Once in Cape Town, have also put water-saving measures in their bathrooms and are urging guests to do their part in conserving water.
Virgin Active branches across the Cape have also started making the right moves in reducing water consumption. Head of Strategic Communications at Virgin Active, Les Aupiais says “We replaced a lot of shower heads that was one of the first movies we made. We had those low, flow shower heads put in and that immediately reduced consumption”.
The showers aren’t the only features using excessive water usage, though, and Virgin Active have decided to close their sensation showers, steam rooms and saunas across Cape Town. They’ve also stopped topping up their swimming pools.
Many of our favourite restaurants, gyms and accommodation destinations are taking the necessary action to reduce water usage during Cape Town’s water crisis and we should do the same in our everyday lives.
Follow suite with IYO’s use of grey water by keeping a bucket in your shower and using the water it catches to water your garden. Take it from Virgin Active and (if your shower handle allows), keep the water pressure low and limit your showers to under 10 minutes.
Going into winter, it may seem impossible to not spend an extra 5 minutes in your steaming hot shower, but those 5 minutes will use a lot of water that Cape Town doesn’t have to spare. Make use of grey water, don’t leave the taps running and always remember to save. A little bit of effort will save a lot more water in the long run.
Photography Courtesy