Is Cape Town ready for ‘Day Zero’?
Cape Town never actually reach “Day Zero,” in part because authorities implemented water restrictions throughout the period, banning outdoor and non-essential water use, encouraging toilet flushing with grey water and eventually limiting consumption to about 13 gallons per person in February 2018.
What saved Cape Town from Day Zero in 2018?
Transparency, information and behavioural change saved Cape Town from Day Zero – the day the city was destined to run dry – in 2018. "The drought has taught us the importance of taking the residents along with us,” says Xanthea Limberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste Services at City Of Cape Town.
What happened to Cape Town’s drought?
The drought alarm first sounded during the summer of 2017. In 2018, Day Zero, the day Cape Town was going to turn off the taps, loomed over the city. In an unprecedented effort by all sectors of society, water consumption was more than halved and Day Zero was called off.
How did New York avoid Day Zero?
The city was able to avoid Day Zero – but only through a combination of aggressive water conservation and efficiency campaigns, and increased rainfall in 2018. Day Zero was pushed back by a full month due to restrictions in allocation of water to surrounding agricultural areas.
Why is Cape Town not on Day Zero?
How much did Cape Town lose in the day zero drought?
What caused the day zero drought?
Which countries have zero day droughts?
Is Cape Town a drought?
See 2 more
About this website
Did Cape Town Reach day Zero?
Around Cape Town, farmers agreed to stop using municipal water completely for several months. The Day Zero crisis also emphasised the increasingly unpredictable nature of weather patterns in an era of climate change. By the end of 2018, Cape Town had received more rain than average.
When did day zero start in Cape Town?
Three consecutive dry winters (2015–2017) in southwestern South Africa (SSA) resulted in the Cape Town “Day Zero” drought in early 2018. The contribution of anthropogenic global warming to this prolonged rainfall deficit has previously been evaluated through observations and climate models.
Is Cape Town drought over?
And scientists believe that Cape Town will face more sustained droughts over the next 100 years because of climate change. Although drought instigated the water crisis, experts say it was exacerbated by existing issues, including poor water management and infrastructure problems at dams and other collection points.
When did Cape Town water crisis end?
In September 2018, with dam levels close to 70 percent, the city began easing water restrictions, indicating that the worst of the water crisis was over.
Has Cape Town ran out of water?
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 ...
How did Cape Town prevent day zero?
Cape Town never actually reach “Day Zero,” in part because authorities implemented water restrictions throughout the period, banning outdoor and non-essential water use, encouraging toilet flushing with grey water and eventually limiting consumption to about 13 gallons per person in February 2018.
Can Earth run out water?
In reality, the world won't run out of water. Water does not leave Earth, nor does it come from space. The amount of water the world has is the same amount of water we've always had. However, we could run out of usable water, or at least see a drop to very low reserves.
What happens when water runs out?
When waters run dry, people can't get enough to drink, wash, or feed crops, and economic decline may occur. In addition, inadequate sanitation—a problem for 2.4 billion people—can lead to deadly diarrheal diseases, including cholera and typhoid fever, and other water-borne illnesses.
How Cape Town beat the drought?
The city managed to develop a successful water savings campaign which stopped the taps from running dry in Cape Town. Had this not occurred, residents would have had faced severe restrictions on water use and their daily habits would have been upended.
Which city will run out of water first?
Cape TownHow bad could it be? According to current projections, Cape Town will run out of water in a matter of months. This coastal paradise of 4 million on the southern tip of South Africa is to become the first modern major city in the world to completely run dry.
How did Cape Town not run out of water?
The City of Cape Town worked to get residents and businesses on board with a host of water-saving initiatives. People were instructed to shower for no longer than two minutes. A campaign with the slogan “If it's yellow, let it mellow” promoted flushing the toilet only when necessary.
What country is running out of water?
There are 17 countries listed in the category of suffering from extremely high baseline water stress – Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman and Botswana.
When did day zero start?
Labelled “Day Zero” by local officials and brought on by three consecutive years of anemic rainfall, April 12, 2018, was to be the date of the largest drought-induced municipal water failure in modern history.
What is South Africa's day zero?
JOHANNESBURG — Activists in Gqeberha have long warned of “day zero” — the moment when the taps in this South African coastal city will run dry. Years of severe drought and municipal mismanagement have edged Gqeberha closer and closer to that reality.
How long was Cape Town drought?
three yearsThe Cape Town crisis stems from a combination of poor planning, three years of drought and spectacularly bad crisis management. The city's outdated water infrastructure has long struggled to keep up with the burgeoning population.
What will happen on day zero?
Day Zero: The day when a city's taps dry out and people have to stand in line to collect a daily quota of water. Through most of June, this has been the situation in Chennai, one of India's major cities facing an acute, unprecedented water shortage.
Cape Town faces Day Zero: what happens when the city turns off the taps?
Cape Town reservoir satellite “The total city budget is R40bn, so this won’t destroy us, but it will cause severe discomfort,” says the deputy mayor, Ian Neilson, who adds that he has not ...
Lack of political leadership at all tiers of government and a failure to implement transport planning policy are to blame
Commuters wait for a bus at the Cape Town central station. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Warning bells
The almost complete public transport breakdown on 19 July and the continued vulnerability of the system was not just due to a series of unfortunate events.
Transport problem is a housing problem
Jennings and Kirsten Wilkins (of Open Streets Cape Town), both state that Cape Town’s public transport problem is inextricably linked to its failure to break apartheid spatial planning barriers.
Counting down to Day Zero
The prospects of meaningful rain to help resupply the reservoirs here is looking bleak, and if things keep going the way they are, around 40% of the wider city of Gqeberha will be left with no running water at all.
Adapting at home
In Kwanobuhle, public housing is for people with little to no income. Unemployment is rife and crime is on a steady rise. The streets are packed with residents hustling for money. Old shipping containers operate as a makeshift barbershop.
What happened on Day Zero in 2018?
In 2018, Day Zero, the day Cape Town was going to turn off the taps, loomed over the city. In an unprecedented effort by all sectors of society, water consumption was more than halved and Day Zero was called off. In an unprecedented effort by all sectors of society, water consumption was more than halved. When the winter rains finally arrived and ...
Where is the water collection point in Cape Town?
The water collection point in Newlands, in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, has been upgraded to a permanent stand, with 16 taps to facilitate the tapping of spring water that originates from the Table Mountain aquifers.
What is the day zero in Cape Town?
Cape Town, South Africa has now weathered a full year past its so-called “Day Zero,” the day when the municipal water supply for this major city was estimated to run out.
What is Day Zero?
Day Zero was defined as the point at which stricter regulations would begin because defining Day Zero at 0% capacity would only prompt action from residents when it was too late. The city was able to avoid Day Zero – but only through a combination of aggressive water conservation and efficiency campaigns, and increased rainfall in 2018.
Why is Cape Town vulnerable to water shortages?
Cape Town was also uniquely vulnerable because its excellent water conservation over the past few decades has allowed the city to grow without looking for more water, tightening its ability to cut back on water usage through efficiency. Cities in arid regions elsewhere, such as in central California, are similarly at risk for water scarcity if they depend largely on local rainfall when climate change is expected to prolong droughts. Diversifying the municipal water portfolio with water recycling, desalination, and groundwater can reduce risk of water shortages due to drought. Cape Town has also been investing in desalination plants and in groundwater projects which may help avoid another Day Zero. As water crises pop up all over the globe, we should be thinking about how we can create resilient water systems and encourage water-conserving behaviors such that we are prepared to avoid our own Day Zero.
Why was Day Zero pushed back?
Day Zero was pushed back by a full month due to restrictions in allocation of water to surrounding agricultural areas. The city also saved water by implementing a steep tariff penalizing heavy users of water, prohibiting water for pools, lawns, and nonessential uses, and installing a new water pressure system.
Is Cape Town prepared for Day Zero?
Fortunately, Cape Town residents may be more physical ly and mentally prepared for the next crisis. The Day Zero campaign remains in Cape Town local media and in their residents’ minds, especially for the more affluent residents who consume more media.
Is Cape Town out of the woods?
However, experts warn that Cape Town is not out of the woods just yet. As water supplies have improved and people exit the emergency mindset, water usage has crept back up, but future droughts are inevitable. Fortunately, Cape Town residents may be more physically and mentally prepared for the next crisis. The Day Zero campaign remains in Cape Town ...
Many districts desperate for rain as summer water restrictions loom
Should warm conditions continue without heavy rain soon, municipalities in some parts of the country could be forced to introduce stringent water ...
PE Day Zero: Staff, inmates at St Albans prison scramble for water
A warden at St Albans Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth has raised the alarm over water shortages and overcrowding at the facility.
Why is Cape Town averse to Day Zero?
It’s a familiar story across South Africa. Cape Town’s aversion of Day Zero was thanks to the sacrifice and hard work of its inhabitants, but it also raised serious water security questions about other South African populaces; Johannesburg, Durban, and Pretoria need to act now to avoid the same threat.
When will South Africa run out of water?
The Draft National Water and Sanitation Masterplan laid it out clearly: without a fundamental mind shift in the way South Africa thinks about water to accompany and underpin a massive $60 billion (R899 billion) investment, the country will run out of water by 2030.
What happened to the water in the Eastern Cape?
In Eastern Cape, a crippling drought coupled with inadequate contingency plans left thousands without water last year. In the town of Adelaide, the dam dropped to just one percent of capacity and even then the authorities couldn’t act because they lacked funds. With no proper rain for at least five months, October saw councils in five municipalities declare drought disasters with calls for national disaster status. With many rivers and springs already dried up, even boreholes proved ineffective as groundwater became scarce because of the lack of rainfall to recharge it. Water recently released from a dam on the Kubusi River is providing some respite for towns like Butterworth, with supplies tankered out to surrounding communities, but the region is desperate for funds to be found for more substantial solutions to their ongoing water worries.
Where does Gauteng get its water?
Gauteng province draws its water from the Integrated Vaal River System that includes a huge water transfer via the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Last October, Johannesburg residents were hit with precautionary water restrictions when the Vaal Dam levels dropped to 53 percent, and planned maintenance stopped Lesotho’s water transfers for two months. To many, this highlighted the fragility of their water supply. Gauteng’s population is increasing rapidly, with domestic supply the fastest-growing sector, but its available water won’t increase until the Polihali Dam is completed in 2026. To avoid a water crisis, Gauteng must reduce water use in order to deal with population growth—cutting it by three percent per person per year. Last October’s heatwaves saw daily consumption rise by 264 million gallons (1,000 million liters), and compounded by infrastructure problems, suburban faucets ran dry in the capital. Without the certainty of six years of good rains, Johannesburg and Pretoria need to follow Cape Town’s lead and actively cut their water use.
How does the Northern Cape affect agriculture?
Northern Cape’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture has seen years of serious drought devastate its agricultural sector. Abnormally hot weather and below average rainfall has scorched grazing lands and dried up watering holes, with wholesale livestock deaths and crop failures bringing financial ruin to farmers and a spike in food prices. It’s estimated that at least $40 million (R600 million) is needed to alleviate the drought’s effects and secure more than 60,000 jobs dependent on agriculture. The drought has also wiped out more than two-thirds of the province’s game, and there is the threat of total water supply failure for some towns; Kimberley cut its water supplies at night to reduce consumption. In January the rain began falling again but there is still a clear need for water saving measures and more efficient methods of agriculture, from installing drip irrigation systems to planting crops that can survive the even harsher droughts that future climate change could bring.
What is water stress in South Africa?
Water stress plagues areas all across South Africa, and each area suffers from different issues to different degrees—over use, growing demand, theft, poor infrastructure. With no single cause, a single solution doesn’t exist either.
When will Gauteng's water supply increase?
Gauteng’s population is increasing rapidly, with domestic supply the fastest-growing sector, but its available water won’t increase until the Polihali Dam is completed in 2026. To avoid a water crisis, Gauteng must reduce water use in order to deal with population growth—cutting it by three percent per person per year.
Why is Cape Town not on Day Zero?
Cape Town never actually reach “Day Zero,” in part because authorities implemented water restrictions throughout the period, banning outdoor and non-essential water use, encouraging toilet flushing with grey water and eventually limiting consumption to about 13 gallons per person in February 2018. That level of conservation was foreign to many residents of the coastal tourist destination and would likely be jarring to many in the U.S., where the average person goes through 80 to 100 gallons per day, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
How much did Cape Town lose in the day zero drought?
According to estimates, lower crop yields from the “Day Zero” drought caused an economic loss of about $400 million, in addition to tens of thousands of jobs.
What caused the day zero drought?
Using new high-resolution simulations, researchers from Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that human-caused climate change made the “Day Zero” drought in southwestern South Africa – named after the day, barely averted, when Cape Town’s municipal water supply would need to be shut off – five to six times more likely. Furthermore, such extreme events could go from being rare to common events by the end of the century, according to the study, published November 9 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Which countries have zero day droughts?
Preparing for the future. Other parts of the world with similar climates to South Africa – including California, southern Australia, southern Europe and parts of South America – could experience their own Zero Day droughts in the future, according to the researchers.
Is Cape Town a drought?
In a warming world, Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ drought won’t be an anomaly, Stanford researcher says. Using new high-resolution simulations, researchers conclude that climate change made the Cape Town ‘Day Zero’ drought five to six times more likely and suggest extreme drought events could become common in southwestern South Africa by the end ...
