[imagesource: Wikimedia Commons]

Although it may be too early to actually panic, it is probably necessary to sound the initial alarm to avoid yet another Day Zero like the one experienced in 2018.

Residents and visitors have been warned to keep their water usage down and implement water-saving measures, but still, the city’s water supply is moving in the wrong direction, notes Kevin Winter for UCT News.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been letting the yellow mellow since the water crisis of 2018.

But because of the February heat and shoddy rainfall, the city’s water supply is fast dwindling.

The city’s water demand in the first week of February hit an average of 1-billion litres per day, and it is anticipated it will exceed 1.1-billion litres this week after a run of seven consecutive hot days.

The last time the city used more than one billion litres of water per day was in 2014:

This is equivalent to 237 litres per person per day and includes all water used for whatever purpose in the city. By comparison, most European countries, except for Italy, use between 100 and 150 litres per capita per day.

That’s just not good enough for a water-scarce region that doesn’t receive very reliable seasonal rainfall, while the ever-growing population and tourism industry put added pressure on the water supply.

Even more aggravating is the city’s ageing infrastructure along with slow investment in new water sources and treatment plants that are not able to keep up with the water demand.

February is the worst month when it comes to water management:

It might be too early to raise the alarm, but if the storage levels drop to below 50% by the end of March (currently at 59%), then it is time for more drastic action.

There might be some relief based on the South Africa Weather Service (Saws) model, suggesting that slightly above-average rainfall is predicted in the period from March to May:

Perhaps there is no need to panic just yet, but in the interim, the warning signs need to be getting louder. Avoid uncertainty and rather take action.

If there is lower-than-average rainfall for the year, Cape Town will not be able to avoid water restrictions.

Do what you can in your personal capacity – small baths, pile the dishes, let the yellow mellow, switch taps off, report and fix leaks – while the City (hopefully) does what it can to get a move on, too.

[source:uctnews]