Running Dry

It’s a paradox that a seaside city is running out of water, but that’s what is happening to Cape Town, South Africa.  The city has a population of 3.7 million people and is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  In roughly 50 countries of travel, it’s the most scenic city that I’ve visited.  Unfortunately, the city is suffering through a long and pronounced drought, and in the spring of 2018 it will have used up its water reserves.  Initially city officials declared April 21, as “Day Zero” or the day when the taps would run dry, but that date has recently been moved up to April 12th.  Cape Town is South Africa’s second largest city, but will be the first major city in the developed world to run out of water.

Perhaps the most beautiful city in the world, Cape Town – South Africa.

Planning for Day Zero

In response to the crisis, city officials are ramping up water restrictions, allowing residents to 13.2 gallons per day, which is down from the previous limit of 23 gallons.  To me 13.2 gallons seems quite generous for a city that is literally forecast to run dry in just a few months.  Two minute showers have also been recommended.  When the city does actually run dry, roughly 200 water distribution stations are set up around the city where residents will be limited to 6.5 galls of drinking water per person per day.  Those restrictions were created to fall in line with World Health Guidelines.

Officials are rushing to try and find solutions to the water shortages.  Cape Town has weakened water pressure around the city, has installed water management devices, started the process of groundwater extraction (drilling) but that is still in various stages of planning and/or completion.  Four new desalination plants are under construction around Cape Town, but those are running behind the scheduled completion timelines, and desalination ships are also being prepared for use.  Some swimming pools at hotels have been converted to ocean salt water, but tourists have otherwise not been dramatically affected, yet.

Danger For Travelers

I visited South Africa two years ago and spent a month around the country.  It’s an incredible place, but I can’t image what it would be like to live in a city where people had to gather water in order to live day to day.  Driving around the country, I saw many people walking for many miles along the roads and even interstates carrying fruit and other material on their heads and backs.  That was an eye opener, but running out of water is another situation all together.  I’m wondering what sort of a panic might ensue from living in a city of 4 million people that’s already stricken with crime elements and issues.

According to an article in The Telegraph, city officials are predicting nearly a third of better off residents will lock up their homes and leave ahead of Day Zero.  Complaints of theft and organized gang activity around water supplies are increasingly surfacity.  Reports that warehouses that stock large plastic water containers are being stripped as well as supplies from Johannesburg being gone in a couple of hours.  Other reports of “water wars” around Table Mountain have surfaced, and bottled water trucks and wells used for breweries are also being targeted by thieves.

Conclusion

If you’re planning on a trip to South Africa in the coming months, you should consider this crisis in your stay.  That may mean cutting your trip to Cape Town a bit shorter than normal, upgrading accommodation, or staying in outlying areas not in the city proper.  There’s so much to do and see outside of Cape Town that you could still have a wonderful visit without spending any time in Cape Town.  But that omission would be a pity, as it is a special city.  In the end, civil unrest is a very real possibility in the coming months and as a tourist, that’s not a situation that I’d want to get involved in.