What does it Mean to be Water Wise?

To be WISE means to take the knowledge you have gained and use it to benefit yourself and others including plants and animals, without causing harm. Did you know that there are SIX "meanings" to being Water Wise? To be "Water Wise" means:

	1. RESPECT WATER, RESPECT LIFE   All life on Earth needs water in order to survive. Without water, everything would be dead. The water we have on Earth today was used by dinosaurs millions and millions of years ago. And because water is life, we must RESPECT it and must use it wisely. We must also RESPECT all life on Earth, which means other people and the animals and plants that live on Earth. This is the first meaning to being "Water Wise".
	2. DON'T WASTE WATER   If you WASTE something, you use too much, or use it for no purpose. South Africa is classified as a semi-arid country and many people do not have access to enough water. It costs a great deal of money to manage our dams and water transfer schemes so that humans receive enough water. It also costs a great deal of money for purification stations, like Rand Water, to purify dirty water so that it is clean and healthy to drink. We must all learn to NOT WASTE WATER. This is the second meaning to being “Water Wise”.
	3. DON'T POLLUTE WATER   If you POLLUTE something, you spoil it by making it unclean or dangerous. Pollution affects the water life that lives in rivers and can spread disease in communities that drink raw water from a river. It also costs more money for purification stations to clean polluted water. We must all learn to NOT POLLUTE WATER. This is the third meaning to being "Water Wise".
	4. PAY FOR WATER SERVICES   Water comes freely from the sky so why do we need to PAY for water? Yes, water is free but in order for each one of us to receive enough clean, healthy water from our taps we have to pay for it. We have to pay for the infrastructure and people that brings this clean, healthy water to us, i.e. the people who look after the rivers; the dams that are built to store the water; the purification stations that clean this water; the pumps and pipes that transport the clean water to the reservoirs; the reservoirs that store the clean water; the pipes that transport the clean water to our taps; & when we use the water, AND ABUSE IT, the water dirty and goes down the drain to a wastewater treatment station.
	5. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION   ACTION means to do something. If we see an environmental problem we must do something about it. Can you think of any actions you can do to solve our water problems? Examples: fix a leaking tap; throw litter in a dustbin; report a leaking pipe; recycle litter; clean up rivers; respect animals, plants and people, etc. Many of you know the answers to being "Water Wise" but you must remember to PRACTISE being "Water Wise" in your daily lives. We all must take ACTION! This is the fifth meaning to being "Water Wise"
	6. CONSERVE WATER, CONSERVE THE ENVIRONMENT   Water is important for all life on Earth and that is why we need to CONSERVE it. To CONSERVE something means that we care and protect things against neglect and damage. By conserving water we are conserving our environment and ensuring the survival of all life on Earth. All life on Earth is connected. If humans pollute water then it causes the fish and the insects in the river to get sick and die. If humans waste water then there isn’t enough for the animals and plants that share the Earth with us. We all live together on Earth and we must remember that when do something we could have a bad affect on these animals and plants. Remember water is life and life is water. So the sixth meaning to being "Water Wise" is CONSERVE WATER, CONSERVE THE ENVIRONMENT.   (Information produced by The Water Wise Education Team, Scientific Services Division)