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UNIT 4: ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
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ISSUES TO CONSIDER
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WATER AND WASTEWATER
• Despite prevailing droughts and water shortages, no water
conservation measures have been taken at the Lodge. Towels and linen
are changed daily and gardens and lawn are watered throughout the
day. All rooms are equipped with large baths – no provisions are made
for showers. The interior floors and windows are mopped and exteriors
are spray- washed every day. The swimming pool is refilled twice a
week during peak season and chlorine is used as a purifying agent.
Many cold and hot water taps and toilet cisterns in guestrooms, back
office and F&B outlets leak continuously. Water pressure at tap is not
regulated. Hoses and sprinklers used to water the garden do not fit the
water outlet, and here again there is significant water loss.
• Fresh water to the Lodge is usually supplied through a small diversion
from the nearby river Nila, after purification in a water supply
purification plant. Prevailing droughts have, however, drastically
reduced the river water level, and water is now being supplied from
the aquifer that lies directly beneath the park. Park authorities are
concerned that the water levels of the aquifer are decreasing. The
aquifer is critical to the maintenance of the Park’s entire ecosystem,
supplies the natural ponds and lakes that serve as waterholes for
the animals, and provides water (through boreholes) to the local
population.
• The wastewater from the Lodge is said to be treated at the wastewater
treatment plant that serves the town of Pembroek. However, local
citizen groups have reported that the wastewater ends up without
treatment in the River Nila – the outfall being only a few kilometres
upstream from the water supply diversion to the Lodge.
ENERGY
• Hot water, maintained at 70°C at tap, is provided by fuel-operated
boilers. All other equipment operates on electricity, obtained partly
from the national grid, and partly from the Lodge’s own noisy
and expensive diesel generators located onsite. Grid electricity is
generated through hydropower. Peak tariffs are charged for power use
between 08.00 and 10.30 and 17.00 and 20.00 hours.
• The garden restaurant operates a nightly barbecue dinner where coal
and wood are used for torches and cooking.
• Prevailing droughts and low water levels across the country are now
causing grid electricity shortages. The grid supply is interrupted from
23.00 to 05.00 hours at night and from 13.00 to 16.00 hours during
the day. At these times, the Lodge makes maximum use of its diesel
generators to produce electricity.
• Incandescent bulbs are used for lighting in all areas of the hotel,
except the back offices and kitchens where fluorescent tubes are
installed. Lights in public areas and corridors are left on throughout
the day and at night.
• All guestrooms are equipped with single-unit air-conditioners.
However, the thermostats of most units do not function, and therefore
when turned on they only work at full capacity. Guests often have to
open the windows as the rooms get ‘too cold’. Most units are also noisy
and leak water produced by condensation.