Cape Town is reportedly experiencing a very severe water crisis this year. One of the largest cities in Africa is mentioned will be the first city in the world that run out of the water if the water crisis there continues. The flow of clean water to the settlement is predicted to be completely stopped in a matter of days if the situation does not change positively.
Cape Town is a coastal city in South Africa. It is the second largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg. Cape Town is also the capital and largest city in the Western Cape province.
The number of residents who live in this city is about 4 million people, so the consumption of water there is quite high. Unfortunately, the available water supply is not proportional to the high water demand for the population. If the inhabitants are not good at saving water, then predictions about the first city in the world that runs out of water will actually be experienced in Cape Town.
Drought problems have become commonplace in South Africa, but usually, the drought strikes only in winter every year. At that time the dam becomes shallow causing a decrease in the amount of water. However, the drought is not to the point of a water crisis like the one in Africa today.
Until 20 April, the city of Cape Town is still rumored to have a water crisis. If that continues, the city will get closer to “Day Zero”, a metaphor used to describe the situation of a metropolitan city with the largest population in Africa that has to close the tap because of running out of water in the middle of a drought for years.
The Day Zero situation does not mean that the city has no water at all. However, it means that all the usable water supplies have been removed from one of the six major dams of the city. Scientists say that Day Zero will occur when water demand drops below 13.5%. The estimate was obtained after they reckoned the debris that had sunk to the bottom of the reserve.
Earlier, Day Zero was predicted to happen in mid-April this year, but luck could have been avoided. However, the threat of running out of water still continues. The prediction, originally stated in April, now turns to mid-July.
The efforts that have been made so far to avoid the disasters are to conserve water usage. Earlier this year the Cape Town government ordered residents to limit water use to no more than 13 gallons of water a day. The regulation was eventually changed to 9 gallons from the previous mandate.
The amount is very unusual when compared with the normal water requirement, which is about 80-100 gallons per day. However, there is no other choice that can be done because the availability of water in this city is in very serious condition. Day Zero that threatens this city can be avoided if its population can be more conservative on water consumption, or if the city gets an extraordinary amount of rainfall for a whole month.
The drought is one of the effects of extreme weather changes. Over the past three years, Africa has received very low rainfall, not to mention exacerbated by increased consumption by an ever-increasing population.
If current water shortages are threatening the second largest city in South Africa, it is possible that such disasters may also occur in other countries around the world. Given the recent erratic changes in the weather make people everywhere should always be wary.
While still being blessed with abundant water, let us not waste it. Try to start applying a saying that it is better to prevent than to cure. Before the threat is really in sight, we should start saving water use from now on. Do not let things happen in Cape Town also happen in our own place.