Cape Town is running out of water. After three years of unprecedented drought, it
could be the first major city in the world to go dry. And nearly a dozen more
around the world are facing the same risk.
This is supposed to be Cape Town's main dam, but it's looking more like a desert.
Did the city of Cape Town fail to act early enough?
It's always easy in retrospect, to say, well, we could've started earlier.
If "Day Zero" arrives, the South African city of
4 million will shut off the taps for all but essential facilities, like hospitals.
In a region defined by deep racial and economic disparity, the threat of dry
taps is highlighting the stark divide between the haves and the have-nots.
But in the end, everyone in Cape Town could be left without water.
We're in Newlands, which is an affluent suburb at the slope of Table Mountain. Its natural spring has always
provided water for local residents, but now thousands come from miles away, as
early as 5 a.m., to fill up their jugs. This is now a common sight in Cape Town.
Long lines at one of the city's natural springs, where people are collecting
fresh water in an attempt to conserve the ever-scarce municipal water coming
from the tap. It's a time-consuming but cost-effective alternative to buying water.
How worried are you about Day Zero, when the taps might run dry?
Some enterprising Capetonians are turning crisis into opportunity with online offers to
"deliver" water for those willing to pay. Others are selling rainwater collection
tanks, and installing water collection systems in homes. It's smart business,
since water, especially bottled, has been in high demand. When Day Zero appeared
imminent, bottles would sell out in stores.
Now, many Capetonians have settled into the realization that conservation is their new way of life.
Scenes like this are not what most outsiders think of when they hear "Cape Town."
The coastal city is better known as a tourist destination, with multi-million
dollar beachfront properties. But three years of unprecedented drought and rapid
population growth, coupled with inadequate planning, have plunged this
paradise into panic. This is Cape Town's main reservoir, supplying more than half
of the city's water. I should be underwater right now but as
you can see there is none in sight. The reservoir is down to just 10% of its
capacity. The last 9% of the water is unusable because of the high
mix of sand in it, making it almost mud. The winter rainfall runs from May to
August. But rain alone is unlikely to save Cape Town. Instead, city officials
are instructing residents to limit their daily water use per person to 50 liters – or
13 gallons – a day. There are signs all around town
reminding people to conserve, and some public spaces have already shut off
their taps. So as you can see in this public restroom, there's signs saying
that washing hands is prohibited. In fact, the fixtures on all the sinks are
removed, and over here there's a sign that says, that "Due to the current water
crisis, showers and some taps have been disconnected."
In February, farmers opened their dams to allow about 2.6 million gallons of water to flow to
the drought-stricken city. Such combined efforts have helped to push back Day
Zero. but the doomsday remains a moving target – in a city where a water crisis
only highlights the deep disparity between residents. What's now considered
the "new normal" for all Capetonians is everyday life for black residents living
in townships. Under the apartheid system, blacks were forced to live in barren,
under-resourced communities called "townships" – like this one, where they
continue to live today. Shepherd is among the 25% of Capetonians who live
in townships, all of which combined use less than 5% of the city's water. They
don't have taps in their homes, or toilets or showers.
So every time you need to get water, this is what you do?
What about when you want to wash yourself, shower?
How many times a day do you do this? Or how many times a week?
20 times a week?
Yes.
I asked Shephard to show me how he fills what he calls his “bath.”
You fill half this up?
Do you feel like, now that everybody in Cape Town is suffering from a water shortage,
that the richer people and the white people are getting a glimpse into your experience?
Townships already experience regular water shutoffs, and city officials say they'll
be exempt from a citywide shutdown on Day Zero. The city's conservation
campaigns are instead targeted at suburbs, which are among the most water-wasteful.
They're also where most white residents live.
Anita Shapiro is doing her best to meet the city's water guidelines. Her family
doesn't water their lawn or fill their pool, and have learned to collect rainwater.
Did you know any of this before you –
No, no.
So you basically had to learn the piping –
Yes.
The water infrastructure of this whole house.
Anita's home has more conservation signage than most public facilities. She also uses wet wipes
instead of washing her hands. If it's yellow, lets it mellow, takes short showers
and collects the "gray water" to flush the toilet with. Her neighbors have also
drilled a borehole and let her draw groundwater from it.
How do you feel about the fact that Cape Town has gotten to this point of severe water shortage?
It's quite shocking, I think, to to first contemplate
the thought of there being no water in taps. I mean, you grew up with this magic, that you
open a tap and there's water, and suddenly you have to realize it's not magic.
There's politics behind it, there's dams behind it, there's engineering
behind it, and people have failed us. The local government has failed us,
the national government has failed us.
Officials are now scrambling to construct three expensive but temporary small-scale desalination plants
that would purify seawater into drinkable water delivered through taps.
A two-year plant seems kind of just like a band-aid and not a long-term solution.
So this is like buying time in a very expensive way?
But knowledge of the impending crisis goes back decades.
So why is the city only now taking serious action?
I asked the deputy mayor, who was recently put in charge of dealing with the water crisis.
I went to the Theewaterskloof dam yesterday. I saw how shockingly empty it
is, but that didn't happen overnight. So did the city of Cape Town fail to act early enough?
It's always easy in retrospect, when you know that you
had that situation, to say, well, we could have started earlier. And obviously, if we had
started earlier, we would have been in a more comfortable position. But we would
still have to be in a position where we had very significant water restrictions
in order to to get through this period of crisis.
During my time here, the drought was declared a national emergency. There are skeptics who say
that the Democratic Alliance, which runs the city of Cape Town,
waited for things to get this bad in order for the national government, run by
the ANC, to come and shoulder the burden. What do you say to that?
Well, I mean, that's pathetic, to be honest. You know this crisis came upon us
through the lack of rainfall, and everyone has acknowledged for the last
three years that there is an inadequate rainfall. The national
government in terms of the South African constitution, is responsible for bulk
water supply. So it has been their responsibility to step up to the plate.
In the meantime the city is taking additional steps including lowering the
pressure in its water system, installing larger desalination plants, tapping into
aquifers and mountains for groundwater and turning wastewater to drinking water.
So we went from 3 million people to 4 million people overnight. And so, the
ability of the city to service people is stretched because you have this
massive growth in population, but there's a lag in the economic growth.
What's happening here in Cape Town can't be dismissed as unique. Only 3% of the water
covering the Earth's surface is freshwater. And already more than a
billion people around the world live in water-scarce regions. The UN has
projected that the global demand for freshwater will exceed the supply by 40%
in 2030, and that's due to population growth, climate change and
human action. Meanwhile in Cape Town, as the city struggles to push back Day Zero,
its citizens are forced to change their relationship to water and how they use it, possibly forever.
Hey guys, it's Dena here at Cape Town's main reservoir.
That's what's going on with the water crisis here.
Watch our next video where you see what it means to live on 50 liters of water a day.
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