For Cape Town, Day Zero Is 4/22 - That's When They'll Run Out Of Water If Rains Fail Again

[hatrack]

“Day Zero” - the date taps are due to run dry - has crept forward to April 22 as city authorities race to build desalination plants and drill underground boreholes.

Almost 2 million tourists flock to Cape Town every year to bathe on sandy white beaches, explore natural features like Table Mountain or to sip wine in dozens of nearby vineyards. Travel and tourism accounted for an estimated 9 percent or 412 billion rand ($33 billion) of South Africa’s economic output last year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

“At the current rate the city is likely to reach Day Zero on 22 April,” said councilor Xanthea Limberg, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for water. “There is a real risk that residents will have to line up.”

At a trial water collection site, similar to an estimated 200 the city may introduce, people line up between metal fences waiting to fill up containers from standpipes.

EDIT

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-drought-capetown/without-rain-south-africas-cape-town-may-run-out-of-water-by-april-idUSKBN1F51DC

[Nitram]

1. It is possible to sharply cut water use, particularly in the affluent areas where the most water

is used. Just ask California.