Cape Town Averts ‘Day Zero’, But All Is Not Well Yet

Cape Town residents have finally received some good news after months of watching every drop of water they use. City officials announced that Day Zero i.e. the day the city turns off water supply to the residents may not come this year at all.

Thanks to conservation efforts and the prospect of winter rains, Cape Town’s Day Zero which was first predicted to be April 12 and then pushed to July 15 has been put off. On Wednesday, Mmusi Maimane, whose Democratic Alliance party runs Cape Town, announced that as a result of water restrictions, Day Zero may not even occur in 2018.

The announcement came after months of strict enforcement of water usage by the city council. Cape Town residents have had to adhere to a strict ration of just 50 litres of water per person, per day since February 1. Stories of 1 minute showers, using used water to flush down toilets and not washing cars were some of the methods used by people to save water. In comparison an Indian uses on average 150 litres of water every day which goes upto 200-250 litres during times of festivals like Holi and Chhat puja.

Cape Town is a city with four million people. It has a warm Mediterranean climate, with mild, moderately wet winters and dry, warm summers. But the city has seen deficient rainfall for three consecutive years. 2018 saw the city face drought conditions and the reservoirs that supplied water to the city run perilously low. The 2018 scare has changed how Cape Town residents consume water. Many have now embarked on personal initiatives to conserve every drop of water like building a rain water harvest system. The city has fast-forwarded the building of salt-water desalination plants so that sea water can be turned into drinking water and over-dependence on reservoirs is lessened.

But in the time of global warming, Cape Town’s experience is not unique. There are many urban areas around the world that are faced with water shortage and water security is now a major issue.

A 2014 survey of the world's 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of "water stress". Here are five cities facing a future of water insecurity:

Bangalore, India

One of the cities, most vulnerable to water scarcity is Karnataka’s capital of Bangalore. Local officials have not been able to keep up with the exponential rise in population and urban development that has come with the city’s rise as India’s technological hub. A lack of adequate planning means Bangalore has been struggling to manage the city's water and sewage needs. A report by the union government found that the city loses over half of its drinking water to waste. An in-depth inventory of the city's lakes found that 85%  water that could only be used for irrigation and industrial cooling. Not a single lake had suitable water for drinking or bathing.

London, U.K.

With a population of close to nine million people, London sees little rainfall and draws most of its water from rivers. According to the Greater London Authority, Londoners use more than 2.6 billion litres of water on a daily basis. Officials say the city is reaching near capacity and may start to feel the water pinch by 2025 and may face serious shortages by 2040, the BBC reported.

Sao Paolo, Brazil

One of the world’s most populous cities with a population of twenty million people, Sao Paulo has been faced with severe water shortages in the past. The most recent was the water crisis in 2015, when nearly two-thirds of residents faced water scarcity and armed forces had to be deployed to prevent looting.

Beijing, China

The World Bank classifies water scarcity as when people in a determined location receive less than 1,000 cubic metres of fresh water per person a year. In 2014, each of the more than 20 million inhabitants of Beijing had only 145 cubic metres. China’s situation as a whole is extremely precarious as it is home to almost 20% of the world's population but has only 7% of the world's fresh water.

Cairo, Egypt

The River Nile is the main source of water to Egypt’s cities. But, due to pollution and climate change River Nile is struggling in modern times. The division of water from River Nile is also a matter of debate as upper riparian countries like Ethiopia have constructed dams on its tributaries to ensure their water security. The UN estimates critical water shortages in the Egypt by 2025.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2018 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).