A Newsletter for Manzi’s Buddies January 2018

Hi my dear Friends, I am sure you have all received your results for your performance in 2017. Congratulations to all those who did well in their studies and for those who did not make it, there is always a second chance in life. I can tell you that you did not fail but the method you used to study failed you and you can always change the method and make it in 2018. I normally say, “Failure is a free University that the students of success attend to learn the lesson of success”. Welcome to 2018 and I hope that you had a wonderful holiday and have great energy for this year. As we begin 2018, let me remind you of the 5 P’s: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. If you want to succeed in life, you need to plan properly and be committed and disciplined to follow your plans. Our country experienced serious water challenges last year, especially in Cape Town. Will you survive without water? I don’t think so? Water acts as a transport agent for food; helps during metabolism; assists with hydration; quenches your thirst; and regulates your body temperature. Remember water will always be an ingredient to assist you to achieve your full potential. But you must have clean water. In this newsletter I will show you the different ways that water can be purified. Drinking water must clear, colourless, odour free, have a pleasant taste and must not contain any germs or minerals that can make you sick. When pollutants dissolve in or mix with water, the water becomes unsafe for humans, animals and plants. POLLUTED WATER CAN BE CLEANED Polluted water is a mixture of different substances that can be harmful to the animal that is using the water. Polluted water can be cleaned in different ways. The different substances in polluted water can be taken out of the water, sometimes at great expense, in order to clean water. There must be proper planning when purifying water so that people and the environment does not get sick.

WAYS TO PURIFY WATER

HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR WATER SAFE? If you don’t have a water purification station to clean your river water what can be done to clean the water? There are 5 ways to make your water safe to drink: Boiling Boiling water kills any germs that might be in the water. Step 1: Boil water in a pot. Step 2: Allow to cool. Step 3: Keep this boiled water covered with a lid or clean cloth to protect it from being contaminated by flies and dirt. Adding Bleach Bleach is strong smelling and contains chlorine which kills harmful germs in the water. Step 1: Buy a bottle of bleach from your local shop. Step 2: Add one teaspoon of bleach to 20 litres of water. Step 3: Allow to stand overnight for a minimum of 2 hours. Step 4: Keep the water covered with a cloth or lid to keep out flies and dirt. Your water is now safe to drink. Adding Iodine Iodine will also kill germs in water. Please do not use iodine if you are allergic to it. Add 5 drops (1 drop = 0.05ml) iodine to one litre of water. Cover the water with a cloth or lid and let it stand for 15 hours. If the water is cloudy, filter it through a clean cloth and double the dose to 10 drops of iodine per litre of water. Adding Water Purification Tablets There are a number of water purification tablets available from a chemist or camping shop. Please follow the instructions on the pack carefully. When the dirt settles to the bottom of the container, filter the clean water through a clean cloth. The dirt will be left on the cloth. Be sure to keep the clean water covered with a cloth or lid. Solar Disinfection Fill a clear plastic bottle with water and leave in the hot sun for two hours. If half the bottle is painted black and it is placed on a corrugated iron sheet, the heating process is speeded up. The combination of warm water and ultraviolet radiation from the sun kills most micro-organisms. This is particularly effective for killing the cholera bacterium. (Source: “Exploring Water”, Umgeni Water, 1994; “Elan”, Medihelp, 2001; New Scientist Magazine, 2000)

HOW CAN WETLANDS CLEAN WATER? Wetlands are nature’s way of cleaning dirty water. They do this by acting as a filter, trapping sediments, dissolved nutrients and even germs. The water leaving the wetland is cleaner than the water entering it. They also act like sponges holding water back in summer and releasing it slowly in winter, when the vegetation dies off. This ensures a more steady flow of water in a river downstream. They also help to replace groundwater. Animals living in wetlands are well looked after.

Credit: Treehugger.com

Ref: Nuruint

Water has to be purified before it is used. Water that comes out of the tap is supplied to residents by the municipality. In Gauteng, parts of the Free State, Mpumalanga and North West Provinces, the water supplied to the municipality is cleaned by Rand Water. Dirty water from the Vaal Dam is purified at special water purification stations. At the purification stations, dissolved pollutants, bacteria and sediments are removed from the water to improve the quality and make it acceptable for drinking purpose. Rand Water currently uses the following methods to produce clean drinking water:

HOW IS TAP WATER CLEANED?

1. Water is taken from the Vaal Dam and placed into an

open canal.

2. SCREENING: water passes through metal bars or screens

that trap large living organisms, sticks, leaves

and litter.

3. COAGULATION AND FLOCCULATION: A chemical called “slaked lime” is added to the water which attracts the dirt particles

together and forms “floc”.

4. SEDIMENTATION: The floc flows into a large tank and settles to the bottom. This

is now called Sludge.

5. CARBONATION: As the water tastes soapy carbon dioxide (an acid) is added to balance the pH of the water and make it better.

6. FILTRATION: the water flows through sand filters to remove small living organisms

and some germs.

7. CHLORINATION: Chlorine gas is bubbled into the water to

kill the germs.

8. WATER SUPPLY: The clean water is pumped to reservoirs and then supplied to houses, schools,

businesses and factories by the local municipality.

ACTIVITY Answer the following questions: 1. How can germs be removed from dirty water? ______________________________________________________________2. Wetlands are nature’s way of cleaning _________________________ water. 3. If you live in a rural settlement what are the 5 ways to treat dirty water? ___________ __________ __________ __________ _________ 4. Cut out the following pictures of each step in Rand Water’s purification process and place them in the correct order below:

Canal

Screening Coagulation and Flocculation

Sedimentation

Carbonation

Filtration Chlorination Water Supply

5. Briefly explain what can you do be Water Wise in 2018? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

I hope you have learnt a lot about the different ways that water can be cleaned. I believe you are going to save lives by teaching others these ways in your community.

For more information www.randwater.co.za and click on the Water Wise logo.

I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year and may 2018 be a year filled with great success.

Remember: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

LOTS OF LOVE MANZI

For more information on Water Wise, please contact 0860 10 10 60 or log onto www.randwater.co.za and click on the Water Wise logo.