Day Zero stalks the Eastern Cape’s dams
Without a drastic cut in water consumption, Gqeberha residents could soon face a couple of hours of water-shedding a day, with ‘disastrous consequences’ for the local economy
The Eastern Cape city of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is suffering one of the worst droughts in its history. At current rates, its main dams will fall below the 10% level in about two to three months. But though this spells disaster for farmers and those who have no other water sources, the city is adamant it is not facing a Day Zero, when taps will run dry.
According to the Gqeberha office of the SA Weather Service, if total dam levels in the Algoa system continue to drop at a rate of 0.6 percentage points a week, as they did between February 22 and March 1, they will fall collectively below the 10% level as early as May 17...
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