TravelCrunch

Saturday is the last day of World Water Week 2009. I have ran out of water saving tips for travellers for now, but look to the future for even more water saving schemes by accommodation providers.  Here in Belgium, we have a toilet that is even more efficient than dual flush. I’m not exactly sure how it works internally, but all you have to do to activate it is depress the flush button. If you don’t touch it again it will empty the cistern. However depress it again before the cistern has emptied the flushing action is  immediately stopped. The user can then judge how much water is required at each flush. The cistern also has a house brick in it to limit the amount of water used in a full flush. This system is backed up with grey water saved from showering or bathing. When having a shower the first few minutes of water tend to be cold. Instead of letting this water go down the drain, it is caught in a bucket and used for watering our plants. Soapy grew water is transferred to the bucket and used to flush the toilet. It would be good to have a plumbed in system to use this grey water, perhaps supplemented by water caught on the roof. Hotels, apartments, villas and chalets can easily adopt water saving measures such as these. I urge them to do so now, as even in areas with no water shortages, it still consumes significant amounts of energy to pump water around. Other steps could be a return to earth composting toilets and dry urinals. These are a little more of a cultural change but will gain acceptance.

Water is a big political issue as I among many others, feel that access to safe water is a basic human right. Privatised companies can only charge for purifying and transporting clean water as well as removing waste water and treating it. I am not against Private Water Companies, but they should only be a contracted out service of governments and councils and must be answerable to them and the electorate. There should always be an ample supply of free safe drinking water to those that cannot afford to pay, even if it is from standpipes.

As I wrote in my first post, safe drinking water and effective sanitation is something that is not  universally available. One in eight people do not have safe water to drink and over 40% of the world’s population live without adequate sanitation. Non Governmental Organisations such as WaterAid do a great deal to provide solutions to the crisis and get actively involved in affecting political change. I have supported WaterAid in the past and am doing so this week by giving a charitable donation at www.wateraid.org. Of course there are other water charities including Just a Drop and Charity:Water.