Day Zero may only be in early 2019 — if Capetonians keep saving water
Cape Town residents will probably not see Day Zero this year if they continue to use 50l of water a day‚ but that puts the next Day Zero target in the middle of next summer.Deputy mayor Ian Neilson said on Thursday the current Day Zero projection‚ which is based on dam levels‚ was in mid-July — placing it in the middle of the rainy season.Rainfall patterns over the past two years had become extremely unpredictable‚ and models assumed 2017’s well-below-average rainfall as the "new normal"‚ he said."Regardless of rainfall or water supply augmentation‚ Cape Town needs to continue striving to reduce average daily consumption to 450-million litres a day."This must be done not only to stretch our supplies as far as possible‚ but also because the national Department of Water and Sanitation has imposed a 45% restriction on the city’s water use for the current hydrological year (November 1 2017 to October 31 2018)‚" Neilson said."If we do not adhere to this restriction‚ there is a chance tha...
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