Channel water run-off

WHEN I drive through Montague Gardens when it’s raining, I often see large warehouses, factories etc with huge roofing areas where rainwater is running down the drainpipes into the gutters and into stormwater drains.

The powers-that-be should compel the owners of new buildings to have suitable tanks for rainwater and encourage owners of existing buildings to get rain tanks.

These tanks could supply water to flush company toilets, as well as irrigate any plants on the premises.

If they spend about R7 million on a warehouse, surely R7 000 isn’t too much for something that will be beneficial in the long run?

It would provide work for plumbers. Well-point pumps would be in demand, while pool pumps could be useful if needed for tank-to-tank filling.

The price of tanks should drop if the demand is high, and they can be produced in bulk.

Where possible, water quality can be prolonged by using a small windmill geared down using a paddle in the tank, slowly moving the water, thus retarding it from stagnating too soon.

Our constant south-easter will help here.

An additive can be added to deter mosquito breeding.

Floods have taken place elsewhere in the country while the Western Cape has drought.

As desalination plants are expensive, and will take a long time to get started, why don’t the authorities use the rail system to collect water in flooded areas and transport it in those long goods rail trucks with open tops?

They would have to be covered to avoid spillage.

If they could be lined on the inside with a thick plastic, the metal walls would support the water pressure.

The water could be discharged via a valve low down in the container using gravity.

To do that, they would have to be taken on suitable bridges that cross over roads – such as the one on Bosmansdam road – filling up water trucks waiting below.