I helped prepare lunch with filtered rainwater. It is clean and safe for drinking, cooking, and washing vegetables. It felt good knowing that the water we worked so hard to collect was keeping everyone healthy.

After fixing the rainwater system in the morning, I felt ready to tackle the next task: making sure the greywater system was working smoothly. I learned that greywater is used water from sinks, baths, and washing. It’s not clean enough to drink, but it’s not dirty like black water (from toilets). With some natural filtering, greywater can be reused to water plants or fill ponds.

After lunch, I watered the flower garden using greywater from the reed bed system. This water started its journey as dishwater and was filtered naturally by plants like cattails and reeds. It’s amazing how nature does the hard work for us. Cleaning the water so we can reuse it.

But not everything went smoothly today. When I checked the pond, it looked murky. Jasper told me it’s because too much greywater had flowed in too quickly, overwhelming the system. He adjusted the valves to slow it down, giving the plants more time to clean the water.

We also had a quick chat with the team about avoiding harmful soaps and detergents. Last week, someone accidentally used the wrong dishwashing liquid, and it nearly damaged the plants in the reed bed.

• Do you think it’s okay to reuse water from washing dishes or vegetables? Why or why not?
• What would you do to keep a water-cleaning system (like a reed bed) healthy?
• Have you ever noticed how much water goes down the drain at home? How could you reuse some of it?

After dinner, we had a short community meeting to talk about water use and improving the system. Jasper suggested we add more rainwater storage for the dry months, and Maya reminded us to check the reed bed regularly to keep it healthy. I shared what I learned today.

I learned about black water, too. It comes from toilets, much dirtier than greywater and needs special treatment. But believe me, it is not black in colour, rather brown, hehe, guess why. The good thing is that we don’t produce black water at all, because our composting toilets run without water.

Later, as the stars turned up above, I took a moment by the pond. It looked much clearer now, thanks to Jasper’s quick fix. I realized how much effort it takes to manage water sustainably, but also how rewarding it is. Every drop serves a purpose, and we work together to make sure nothing is wasted.

Today was hard work, but I’m proud of what we accomplished. Tomorrow brings new challenges, and I can’t wait to take them on.

Goodnight, water. 🌙💧

• What’s the most important job you’ve ever done for others? How did it feel?
• How do you and your family or friends work together to save water or other resources?
• If you could design your own water-saving system, what would it look like?