When it comes to finding solutions to the current water crisis in Cape Town so as to avoid Day Zero, which could still happen in early 2019 if the winter rains don’t replenish the region’s reservoirs, extreme water restrictions and costly desalination efforts is only hitting the tip of the iceberg.

But towing actual icebergs from Antarctica to Cape Town to solve the crisis altogether? The idea is enough to give anyone a sinking feeling.

However, a local salvage expert reckons that it’s possible. Seriously.

Nicholas Sloane, a South African resident who masterminded the salvage operation of the capsized luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia in 2013, believes that it’s feasible to tow icebergs from Antarctica to the coast of Cape Town, where it can be melted into usable water.

According to a report by CNN, Antarctica sheds about 2 000 billion tons of ice per year, many of which drifts within 1 900 km of South Africa. A single iceberg, weighing about 70 000 tons, would be enough to provide nearly 150 million litres of water per day for an entire year. Approximately one-third of Cape Town’s water needs would be met thanks to just one of these icy buggers.

Plus, the ice is pure water, meaning it will undergo little processing before being delivered to the city’s four million residents.

This seems like a real game-changer. But of course, it’s not (read: never) that simple.

For one thing, it would require a tanker three loooong months to tow the iceberg into the Benguela Current, which flows up from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, along the west coast of South Africa. Secondly, the kilometre-long iceberg must be wrapped in fabric to limit the amount of melting – even then, an estimated 30% of the iceberg’s mass is going to melt before it ever reaches our shores.

And lastly, because icebergs have such massive draft, Sloane and his team will have to run the iceberg aground kilometres off the coast and tether the ice like an oil rig, harvesting the melted water from an opening inside the berg.

As for environmental concerns, a review of the idea in a 2001 special report from the International Water Resources Association had this to say:

Melting iceberg material in near-shore coastal waters could cause a dramatic decline in local water temperatures with probable associated adverse effects on sensitive marine organisms.

… oh dear.

It all sounds like one titanic effort for nothing. But Sloane and the team feels that this venture could be successful, and he’s planning to hold a conference later this month to try and convince city officials and investors to buy into the R1,6 billion project.

Hey, I suppose there are worse water solutions out there. Whatever floats your boat, etc, etc.

[source:cnn]