Thursday, 9 October 2008

Waste not, want not

You must have heard all these before:
"Water is precious; don't waste it."
"Buy water-efficient electrical appliances."
"Place an empty plastic bottle in your toilet cistern to save water."
"Use a watering can instead of the hosepipe to water your garden."
"Construct a catchment tank to collect rainwater."
"Mend your dripping taps."
"Take a shower, not a bath."
"Use your vegetable cleaning water to water your potted plants."

Irrigation of fields in Fournes isn't an easy task in the summer, as the water supply is limited to certain areas. To water your fields, you need to find out the days which the supply is serving your area, always denoted by a simple hand-written sign from the neroula (waterman) in the area. This one, for example, says: "We irrigate Sunday, Monday, Tuesday".

All very well, but this photo was in mid-September - it had not rained a drop at the time (not even for four months before that), so where is this water coming from? A broken pipe, a leak, bad storage methods, wasted water.

So much for saving water...


  1. A very good reminder Maria to all of us.

  2. είναι δυνατόν στις μέρες να βλέπεις άτομα να προσπαθούν να καθαρίσουν τους δρόμους και τις αυλές τους ρίχνοντας χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη νερό; το post σου πρέπει να γίνει διαφημιστική καμπάνια.

  3. Maria, yes, we need to save water all the time although we never lack water resourses here in Hangzhou, but in the Western part of China, water is something more expensive than lots of other nessecities in life...thx for sharing the photo

  4. that irrigation schedule is fascinating. :O i hope they fix the leak or whatever it is.

  5. Good advise, thank you, i follow some of them.

  6. Yeah, it hurts to see water wasted. But you're lucky it's a water pipe. When municipal pipes break in this country, it is often the sewage pipes. Then the affected Mediterranean beaches are closed, or local residents are told to boil their water until it gets fixed.

  7. ...reporting live from the scene of the environmental crime.

    For ODIH, Maria Χατζήρεπορταζάκη


  8. It is difficult to see things like this when you live in an arid region. I have always been water-conscious, but after moving to the very dry desert, seeing water running down a street makes me cringe.