A magnificent change in the “Mother City” compared to its dire situation just two years ago. In 2018 Cape Town was on the precipice of becoming the world’s first major metropolitan area to run out of water, prompting what officials referred to as “Day Zero.” A combination of strict water rationing, infrastructure changes and above-average rainfall this year in the South African city has made those memories a thing of the past. At the height of the crisis and just days before dams ran dry, residents were restricted to 50 liters per day (just over 13 gallons) for all cooking, drinking, washing and bathing. If “Day Zero” had been implemented, residents would have had to queue for daily water rations of 25 liters per person. Capetonians rallied together to ration water like never before, changing its societal relationship with water. It was and continues to be a united effort to save their precious, limited resource. However, this celebration may be premature if future water conservation efforts are relaxed and the city falls back into a period of demand outweighing supply. Cape Town has a long history of water stress, as it’s situated in a semiarid region of southern Africa. Fortunately, the Western Cape has received above-average winter rains, which has helped alleviate the city’s drought stress and replenished the dams to their former glory.
SOURCE: CNN
More Stories
At the Coalface of the Green Revolution, but Earning Crumbs
Harris Stresses that U.S. Interests in African Nations Extends beyond Competing with China
Lesotho’s Lawmakers Debated a Motion to Claim Huge Swathes of Territory from South Africa
New HRW Head Weighs in on the UK’s Plan to Deport Asylum Seekers to Kigali
South Africans Spent at least 9.5 Hours a Day Online in 2022
Togo Could Move the Needle on Tropical Diseases
Making It Easier for Everyday Africans to Take Advantage of Previously Restricted Asset Classes
Pirates Disrupt the Gulf of Guinea’s Usually Peaceful Waters
Chad’s Parliament has Approved a Bill to Nationalise Oil Assets
Unilever Nigeria Announces Exit of Home Care and Skin Cleansing Markets by End of the Year
Joshua Baraka is Ugandan Music’s Next Big Thing
Design for Human Rights