SAVE WATER

Wastewater reuse On-site wastewater reuse can reduce water use in both urban and rural households. At present, most homes use potable (drinkable) water for practically everything in the house and garden. We are literally flushing our drinking water down the toilet! The articles Reducing water demand, Rainwater and Outdoor water use also have information on reducing potable water use. Opportunities to reuse wastewater and regulation of its treatment vary according to where you live. Urban households typically have a connection to a centralised, or reticulated, sewage system, whereas rural households manage their wastewater on site. Check with your local council or state health authority for advice on the regulations in your area. Two types of wastewater are created in a home: greywater and blackwater. Greywater is wastewater from non-toilet plumbing fixtures such as showers, basins and taps. Blackwater is water that has been mixed with waste from the toilet. Because of th...

Kerala has been on high alert due to mysterious deaths of eight people because of an unidentified viral attack. Out of these, three were reported to be caused by Nipah Virus (NiV). As per the National Institute of Virology, Pune, Nipah Virus is the sole cause of these three deaths. Rajiv Sadanandan, Kerala’s health secretary, has assured that the government has started its preparation towards fewer deaths and that people should not panic. An unheard virus, NiV is yet to be understood by many. Here is what the virus is all about. What is NiV? As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah Virus is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes a severe disease in both animals and humans. This virus was first identified in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998. At that time, it was primarily caused in pigs and through them got transferred to humans. Nipah Virus infected as many as 265 people then, out of which 40 per cent were taken under intensive care due to the infection having spread se...