Water

Small Group Resource

Rich Living: Water - A Rocha’s small group booklet is available for download from the A Rocha website. In this booklet we’ll be reflecting upon how we can use water wisely and more sustainably – for the richness and wellbeing of our lives and also that of our human and non-human neighbours.

This booklet comprises four studies:

Water - The gift of life
Water under threat
The politics of water
Waters of hope

Prayers on Water

Caritas NZ has a prayer booklet with prayers focused around the theme of water and climate change. This resource was written for the Just Water: Climate Change in the Pacific series.

A Rocha International’s Prayer for the Oceans.

Christian Reformed Churches’ Climate Witness Project:

World Water Day

World Water Day is held on 22 March every year. It is one of the United Nations Observance days and was started in 1993. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Water and sanitation for all by 2030.

UN-Water sets an annual theme each year for World Water Day. Find out the current theme at: https://www.worldwaterday.org/

For World Water Day 2022, Save the Children NZ created educational resources for children focused around this year’s theme of “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible”. Check out their resource here: https://www.savethechildren.org.nz/educationhub/world-water-day-2022/ - The resource is filled with interesting facts and activities to engage children around the theme of water. It includes children’s activities to understand concepts like aquifers and liquifaction, to build a tippy tap, to audit our water use, and lots more. Check it out!

Green Anglicans created an excellent liturgical resource for Word Water Day 2022. You can download it here.

Be a Water Refill Station

If your church premises is able to provide access to a water tap easily, you can support Refill NZ and help people in your community know that they can refill their water bottles at your church. Get permission from your church leadership first then fill in this form here to be a refill station. Refill NZ will send you a sticker / poster to put up in your window/ door so people know they can refill for free. Your church will also appear on RefillNZ’s digital interactive map so thirsty people can find your church. Join the #Refillution - Get your water tap on the map - and help reduce plastic pollution!

Resources on using water sustainably

Smart Water is a partnership between Hamilton City Council, Waipā District Council and Waitomo District Council. Aiming to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of water from source to tap, we support schools, organisations and the community to use water sustainably. Check out their website for water saving tips as well as educational resources on water for early childhood and schools, including the story of water.

BRANZ’s Level website has a page on WATER offering insights into water use, sustainability, and efficiency by choosing quality systems and materials, and providing environmentally friendly solutions.

Watercare, who provide water and wastewater services to the Auckland region has a page on being waterwise.

Likewise, Wellington Water also has a page on water conservation measures to explore.

You can also use the DIY Interactive Water Check offered by Watercare and EcoMatters.

Greywater Recycling

All household wastewater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers, laundry tubs, washing machines, showers, baths and basins is called greywater. Greywater cannot be used for cooking, bathing, brushing teeth, swimming or drinking. With the right technology, greywater can be reused on the garden or for flushing toilets. However, it's important that any system used for collecting and reusing greywater is properly installed and maintained.

Some people prefer not to reuse wastewater from clothes washing machines because of the enzymes, detergents and other chemicals in it. Some systems do not reuse kitchen wastewater because it contains fats and other organic matter (especially if there is a food disposal unit in the sink). Kitchen wastewater also has the potential to carry contamination from organisms such as Campylobacter that come from preparing raw meat for cooking.

Greywater can be recycled for use in garden irrigation and, if treated, for toilet flushing. Recycling greywater:

reduces the load on sewerage systems including on-site treatment systems
provides a garden water supply, reducing demand on other sources of water.

Some local authorities in New Zealand encourage greywater recycling, but other authorities do not. The local authority should be contacted before you begin to design a system. A building consent is required to collect greywater from baths, showers, washing machines and laundry tubs, and reuse on your garden or for toilet flushing. Kitchen wastewater is unsuitable for reuse. Public health authorities in New Zealand typically do not support the use of greywater.

Sources and for more information:

Videos on Water

Friends of Oakley Creek - A community group in the Waitakere catchment who have been at the job of restoring Oakley Creek since 2004. A Rocha’s local group in Auckland works in cooperation with Friends of Oakley Creek to restore a section of Oakley Creek.

Another longer video on Oakley Creek is also available. Waterways are ecological lifelines yet people often dump their rubbish in them. The film ‘Oakley Creek’ explores this paradox by asking why a life-giving resource is being degraded. Oakley Creek is a stream that runs 15 km through several suburbs in central Auckland. It faces many challenges, including New Zealand’s largest motorway construction project taking place alongside it. The story of this stream enables reflection on issues currently facing many streams and rivers such as pollution and biodiversity decline.

Blue Lake video - the clearest lake in the world. Dave Litman, the narrator is from Discovery Channel Canada (Toronto), who, with his cameraman, visited NZ and did a series of science stories in April 2014 – including the fly-in and filming at Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake on 9 April 2014

Relevant Eco Church NZ Stories

Featured

Community Engagement, Water, Practical Conservation

Wai Ora – Lower Hutt Anglicans Caring for Opahu Stream

Community Engagement, Water, Practical Conservation

Lower Hut Anglicans recently hosted a community open day in conjunction with Mountains to Sea to raise awareness of Opahu Stream. Visitors were able to take part in species identification, try their hand at sun photography and learn more about both the path and history of Opahu stream – to raise awareness of the stream and get others on board to commit to conservation efforts for our awa.

Community Engagement, Water, Practical Conservation

Water, Sustainable Buildings, Sustainable Lifestyles

Monitoring your church’s water usage

Water, Sustainable Buildings, Sustainable Lifestyles

When Chartwell Cooperating Church worked on the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet, when it came to monitoring their church’s water consumption, they got Heather Kikkert, a water engineer, to carry out an audit of their church’s water consumption. Heather shares some tips for other churches who might also want to audit their water consumption.

Water, Sustainable Buildings, Sustainable Lifestyles

Community Gardens, Compost, Water, Education and Engagement, Food, Sustainable Lifestyles, Waste, Green Spaces

The community garden and Fruit & Vege Co-op at St Matthew’s in Titahi Bay

Community Gardens, Compost, Water, Education and Engagement, Food, Sustainable Lifestyles, Waste, Green Spaces

As you go past the unassuming church of St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Titahi Bay, you might notice the neat garden beds that line one side of the walkway to the church. Walking a bit further to the side of the hall, you will find some 20 feijoa trees. This is the Titahi Bay Community Garden @ St Matthew’s (TBCG@SM), a community garden run by the Titahi Bay community hosted at St Matthew’s grounds.

Community Gardens, Compost, Water, Education and Engagement, Food, Sustainable Lifestyles, Waste, Green Spaces