Let’s not waste the water crisis
As we write this, Cape Town has at last woken up to the likelihood that there will not be enough water in the dams to maintain piped municipal supply until the winter rains come. It’s all anyone here can talk about; the panic is palpable.
If nearly every person cuts their water use to below 50 litres per person per day, “Day Zero”, when the taps are turned off, could be pushed back to May. The odds of emergency supplementary supply projects and early winter rain saving us from Day Zero are low. Agricultural allocation from city supply dams has already been cut.
Essential water saving depends on huge behaviour changes. During the Australian drought from 2000 to 2010, best average use was 129 litres per person per day. More than half of Cape Town residents are
