#WaterCrisis: Table Bay Hotel ramps up savings efforts

Table Bay Hotel by night

Table Bay Hotel by night

Published Aug 15, 2017

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Cape Town - In a bid to save water, the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront has introduced various interventions to recover, reuse and store water.

These methods have been employed to limit the hotel's impact on the environment and municipal water supply. 

It's implemented two grey water collection systems. 

The first collection system treats and stores water from the kitchens and a number of rooms. This water is used to flush the public toilets in the banquet area and staff ablutions. It's also used to water the gardens throughout the hotel. 

The second collection system recycles the backwashed water back into the swimming pool.

"It is astonishing that in South Africa we use fresh, potable water for flushing toilets. Abroad, it is commonplace to use greywater for this purpose. We can now proudly say that The Table Bay is doing the same within our banquet area and staff ablutions," Joanne Selby, the General Manager at the Table Bay Hotel said.

The hotel has also changed the way it manages its gardens, planting water-wise plants and replacing flowering plants with succulents. The irrigation system has also been replaced with a drip system which reduces water consumption by up to 60%.

"We are also experimenting with various water saving devices in the kitchens where water usage is necessary. These include devices such as flow restrictors on taps and energy and water efficient showerheads," Selby said.

"Guests receive a letter on check in advising them that water has become a scarce resource due to the increasing water shortages in the Western Cape, and we ask that they please be conscious of their water usage and use it sparingly. We also have cards in the bathroom; at the basin, the bath and the shower as well as the public ablutions asking guests to be water smart."

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Cape Argus

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