Why all of us need to prepare for Day Zero
Climate change and declining water supplies mean that all South Africans, not just Capetonians, should be preparing for a water-scarce future
They’re calling it Day Zero — the day when Cape Town’s demand for water will exceed its supply. It has been pencilled in for March 2018, but the date depends partly on whether the heavy winter rains will still come. Though the northern parts of SA have had good rains, and dams there are more than 80% full, permanent water scarcity isn’t something that will affect just Cape Town. SA’s National Water Resource Strategy foresees the country as a whole facing a water supply-demand gap of 17% by 2030 under current efficiency levels. Unfortunately, just building more dams — assuming they could be financed and developed fast enough — won’t address the underlying issues. The problem is that while population and economic growth will drive demand for water, supply is set to decline given a continuation of poor usage habits, water losses and ecological degradation such as the destruction of wetlands. In addition, climate change means that SA can expect lower rainfall and higher temperatures. "C...
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