Cape Town Water Crisis: The Day Zero is Approaching Sooner as Expected
Residents of Cape Town have been warned that they face losing water to their homes on April 12- nine days earlier than predicted.
The Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) has revised its estimated 'Day Zero' date to April 12. Residents of Cape Town have been warned that they face losing water to their homes on this date which is nine days earlier than what was predicted earlier. It has been a bruising week for the city as the dam level took another flip with unforgiving weather and water usage. This has moved day zero ahead by more than a week. The Cape Town city is not believed to have enough water for less than 80 days.
What is Day Zero?
- Day Zero signifies that dams are at a crucial level, which means that its storage will be at 13.5 percent which is when the city will turn off its taps.
- It will leave Cape Town with access to water only for vital services.
“Due to a drop in the dam levels of 1.4 percent, Day Zero has, as of today moved forward to 12 April. It is still possible to push back Day Zero if we all stand together now and change our current path”, reported Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson. Temperature soared in the city last week and media reports suggest that water consumption averaged 608 million liters per day. Whereas, the conservation target of the municipality was 500 million liters per day that has not been met.
Cape Town resident Mohammad Allie told BBC how life is like when you have a limit to 50 liters of water usage a day. He says, “My wife does not shower anymore. Instead, she boils about 1.5 liters of water and mixes it with about a liter of tap water to have her daily wash while the rest of us catch the slow running water in a bucket for re-use in the toilet cistern”. The report further stated, South African Breweries( SAB), a major brewing and bottling company conveniently located near the cricket and rugby stadiums installed five taps already. This allows locals to fill up containers with clean running water diverted from a divergent spring located on the premises.
How is Cape Town affected?
- The residents of the city can access water at a strict level of 25 liters per person, per day.
- Wine producers will be affected as they consume enormous amount of water.
- If the wine industry declines, the number of tourist will witness a dowmnfall.
During the event of 'Day Zero', the local government distribution points under armed guards will be the only way for thousands of residents to access water at a strict level of 25 liters per person, per day. Earlier, the Day Zero date was predicted to be 21 April 2018 but dwindled even further. The place famous for its beaches and mountains, is turning to become the first industrialized city to run out of water.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2018 02:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).