Local resident, Leighton Bennett has discovered creative ways in which to save and recycle water for use in his residence.
Bennett has been a Berario resident for the past 25 years and a safety health environment and risk management consultant for 30 years. He was motivated to recycle water due to the substantial amount used to run his wife’s cat hotel situated at their residence and due to the municipal water restrictions which have been imposed recently.
This led to Bennett to install a 1 000-litre water tank with which he backwashes the pool filter. He also installed tanks around his home to capture rainwater which travels from the gutters into his water tanks. In total, Bennett has five tanks which serve different purposes.
“The rainy season is quite a helpful period because we use so much water. The municipality wanted to cut off our water supply. As an emergency measure, I installed a second tank where I store water to use for different purposes. I also use washing machine recycled water to water my garden and water which is collected from the gazebo falls into buckets and is used to fill up the washing machine,” said Bennett.
His innovative methods of saving water have made a significant difference to the cost, amount and allocation of water at his residence.
“My passion for saving water stems from my profession and I use water wisely in my home. Water is scarce in South Africa and the water we do have is polluted, and one of the other reasons of saving water is because of the cost factor. In terms of the water restrictions, I believe any resident can fill up their pool by collecting rainwater that could also be used for household purposes.”
