Water restrictions: Small businesses can save

Business owners in South Africa can play an important part in conserving water resources and reducing their utility bills by embracing water efficiency as a way of life.

In doing so, they can play a valuable role in assisting the country to manage the effects of a prolonged drought.

That’s according to Anton van Heerden, executive vice-president Africa and Middle East at Sage, who says the challenge is for small businesses that depend heavily on water to produce goods or deliver services – for example, gyms, laundromats, agribusinesses, restaurants, hair dressers, car washes, the hospitality sector and many factories.

Van Heerden offers some tips for SMMEs on water efficiency:

Be creative

Many South African entrepreneurs who are the business builders of the country are finding creative ways to work around the water crisis. For example, we are starting to see waterless car wash franchises emerge. This reduces the amount of water wasted from using unnecessary hose pipes and installed washers.

Water efficiency in the kitchen and canteen

When it’s time to replace fittings and equipment, buy pressurised coffee machines, water-wise baseline dishwashers, efficient tap fittings and so on. They are sometimes more expensive, but will pay for themselves over time.

Clean without wasting water
 
Many South African businesses waste water when washing floors, cars and walls. Rather use a bucket and a cloth, mop or a broom to clean.

Detect leaks and plug them
 
Keep an eye on your water bill. If it’s unexpectedly large, you might have a leaking pipe or dripping tap. If you notice a pipe or tap is leaking, fix it immediately.

Make sure your bathrooms are water-wise
 
Consider using water-efficient bathroom fittings – for example, taps with an aerator or flow restrictor to use less water as well as water-efficient urinals.  

Grounds and garden

Go for drought-tolerant, indigenous plants rather than thirstier alien plants.
 
If you have an irrigation system, make sure it is properly maintained and configured. Switch it off completely if there’s rain. A more affordable option to consider is a greywater system.

Install a rainwater tank and use that for watering your plants.

These options can be very useful, especially for companies involved in the agriculture sector where most of their fresh produce comes from farms which require constant maintenance.

Be sceptical of silver bullets
 
There are many innovations that can help you to save water, but be sceptical of the sales pitches of fly-by-night companies that have emerged to take advantage of the water crisis.

As this was also the case during the months of load shedding, many people are looking to make a quick buck rather than to sell you a sustainable solution.  

Ask for customer references and find out about a supplier’s track record before you buy its water-efficient taps or kitchen equipment. Get quotes from multiple suppliers before you commit. Alarm bells should be going off when a quote is much higher or lower than the average among the competition.

Educate employees
 
To ensure that your efforts to conserve water are successful, you may need to change behaviour among your employees. Educate them about how they can avoid waste - for example, by not leaving taps running when they wash their hands or their lunch dishes.

You could, for example, put water saving tips up near kitchen and bathroom taps to remind team members of the importance of saving water.