if I lived in Cape Town, I'd be doing exactly this: Standing in line to collect
water and a jug like this. And I'm allowed up to 6 gallons for myself
from this spring right here. But even though I'm visiting, I'm still expected
to adhere to the water restrictions the city is enacting. In an interview with the
deputy mayor, he told me they don't want to deter tourists because they need the
business, they just want them to "act like a local." But what does that really mean?
I'm gonna show you what it means to live on 50 liters, or 13 gallons, of water a day.
When checking into my hotel, I was reminded by the staff that Cape Town is
in the middle of an unprecedented drought and water shortage.
So there's a sign hanging in the shower that says, "Did you know that a two-minute shower uses
approximately 30 liters of water a day." Now, Capetonians are restricted to
using only 50 liters of water a day, which is about 13 gallons. And just for
some context, estimates vary, but the average American uses 80 to 100 gallons
of water a day. There's a really nice bathtub in the room, but don't even think
about taking a bath during a water crisis like this. You're not allowed to.
In fact, the hotel staff have removed the plug so you can't even fill the tub. It
would be a lot of water, of course. Estimates are about 36 gallons of water
just to fill a full bathtub. Newer toilets can use about one and a half
gallons of water per flush, but older ones can use up to 4 gallons per
flush. And there's one message here in Cape Town that they're constantly
reinforcing, and that is: If it's yellow, let it mellow. So basically the amount of
water that Capetonians are each being asked to use per day adds up to: two hand
washings, to teeth brushings, a two-minute shower, one toilet flush, a half-
gallon of drinking water and one cooked meal. To get a sense of how locals are
changing their ways, I visited Anita and got a tour of the conservation system she's implemented in her home.
When we shower, we catch the water and then use
the water to flush the toilets. We don't flush the toilet if it's yellow, but if
it's brown, then we do flush the toilet. So two or three times a day, maybe, this
toilet gets flushed, and do it by it's pouring the water down the toilet like
that. And what I even do is when we turn on the shower, you know the first
shower water is cold. And you're not standing under it, but it's perfectly
good water, so I fill up this with the first shower water and I put it here, and
we use that for brushing our teeth over here. And then, as the water gets warm, we
start to shower and we catch that, and I've got buckets here for the toilet.
What's your showering schedule like now?
We still shower when we need gray water. So if we're running out of water to flush the toilet,
we have a shower. But it works out to sort of once every two or three days, we'll have a proper shower.
But very fast. When we were practicing, I'd get my
husband to time me, and I showered in 45 seconds. It takes about a minute if
I'm washing my hair as well. But you learn to stop–start your shower.
Prior to the drought, how regularly were you showering?
Once or twice a day, even, yes.
How has this changed your perspective on how we use water?
Well, I don't think we'll ever go back to our old ways. I think I'll always reuse my clothes
now, as much as possible, because it's actually fine. I think it was just bad habits of
washing things over and over. Also, I really don't think I'll ever flush my
toilet again with beautiful drinking water. You can think for years we've
been flushing our toilets with beautiful drinking water.
You're not the first person to tell me that.
When we wash dishes, I use the spring water. Or cooking, I use the spring water.
I've bought this to help rinse dishes. It's a high-pressure hose. So I give it a bit of ...
pump it a few times here, you do that, and you can rinse dishes.
Rather than using rather than using the tap.
So for dinner, we've been eating like this. So eating our food on here, and then
after dinner just throwing away the plate, and sometimes we've just wipe the plate with a wet wipe.
Same goes for their hands.
So I've given every member of family a little bag like this, and in the bag we've got a little mini bag of
wet wipes, we've got some tissues and we've got some waterless hand cleaner.
Anita is now also collecting rainwater. What level would you say it's at right now?
There.
It's here?
It's about half, yes.
And if it gets to this point, then ...
At that point municipal water will come in, yes.
Ideally, what level do you want it at?
Top all the time.
When was the last time it was this high?
Well, our neighbors have offered us borehole water, so what we do now is I've got a real long hose pipe
from our neighbor's property and we bring it across and in and we
fill it up. What I also do now is, if rain is forecast, I suddenly start using
more water because I want to make space in my tank. People talk about rain as if
we're farmers now, and it's it's wonderful, this connection we have again with with
nature and the earth, which I think we lost in the city.
Everywhere I went in Cape Town, I was reminded to conserve. Even in popular tourist areas like the V&A
Waterfront. Here is this fixture in the middle of the waterfront that says, "How
Will the Water Crisis Affect You?" You actually go inside and it's a bit
interactive, "Tell us what you're doing to save water #waterheroes." Here it
gives you an idea of how much water is used per activity. So laundry uses 14
liters, cooking 3 liters of water right there,
toilet flushing 9 liters. Right next to it saying, let it mellow if it's yellow,
number one, and flush it with gray water, so not the clean water. So really
everywhere you go in this city, you look up, you look down, there are reminders
about Day Zero and urging everyone to reduce their water usage. Public
bathrooms don't even give you the option to waste water. All the fixtures of the
sinks have been removed. There are signs that say that washing hands is
prohibited. Another sign here pointing out that due to the drought and water
crisis, showers and some taps have been disconnected. Instead, people are using
hand sanitizer over there. Some artists have even created playlists to help you
time your shorter showers. It's all part of a comprehensive effort to save water
that I found myself taking part in, like a local. So if I was a resident and I ran
out of my water, I'd be back here at this natural spring at the foot of the
mountain to refill my jugs again. This is how Capetonians are dealing with their
water crisis and their severe drought, and it really makes you rethink
how you use water and your relationship to it every single day.
And who knows – my city could be next, and so could yours.
Hi guys, it's Dena. Thanks for watching our
series from South Africa. Make sure to come back next Tuesday for another video.
I'm coming to you from Flint, Michigan where the water crisis here is far from over.
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