# Cape Town water: impending crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004 "2018-01-19T23:15:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/21 "2018-02-15T18:26:02Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > It sounds like they should find ways to store the excess during the flood years. Would that be practical? You’d get [a lot](https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5252/section3.html) [of evaporation](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-wea-1118-asktom-20161117-column.html). ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/22 "2018-02-15T19:27:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You’d get [a lot](https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5252/section3.html) [of evaporation](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-wea-1118-asktom-20161117-column.html). But it wouldn’t _all_ evaporate, would it? Maybe you could Cover the reservoir, perhaps with solar panels. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/23 "2018-02-15T19:47:28Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > But it wouldn’t _all_ evaporate, would it? > Maybe you could Cover the reservoir, perhaps with solar panels. Maybe solar powered [balls](https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/21/the-big-picture-shade-balls-los-angeles-reservoir/)… ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/24 "2018-02-15T20:13:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Maybe solar powered [balls](https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/21/the-big-picture-shade-balls-los-angeles-reservoir/)… Your link doesn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/25 "2018-02-15T20:48:31Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Your link doesn’t work for me. Works fine here. [Here](http://silicamag.com/journal/shade-balls) [are](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150812-shade-balls-los-angeles-California-drought-water-environment/) a couple of articles linked from that article. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/26 "2018-02-17T17:15:02Z")
That’s a LOT of plastic! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/27 "2018-03-03T20:40:26Z")
They just voted to take land away from white people so the water shortage problem should sort itself out down the road. Fewer people should mean less strain on resources. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/28 "2018-06-23T18:57:55Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > Day Zero, the day the taps get switched off when dams reach 13.5% has been pushed back to June, due to stringent restrictions and the agricultural sector having used their water allocation for the season. The rainy season begins in May, at which time several measures, such as temporary desalination plants, are expected to be online. Day Zero may well be avoided. > > Even so, some water restrictions are likely to remain, unless there is well above average rainfall. An update if anyone’s interested: thanks to the restrictions and various other measures we reached June without hitting the Day Zero level. June has brought us a lot of rain, and from a low of 20% the dams are now over 40%. [This graph](https://i.imgur.com/xlHqkHf.png) shows what has happened. (It’s five days old and the levels have risen further since then.) Dam levels are now higher than they were on this date two years ago. We’re by no means out of the woods yet, and water restrictions will remain for a long time, but the impending crisis has receded quite substantially. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/29 "2018-06-23T20:47:00Z")
Thanks, **ctnguy** , that has to be a relief for the area. For the time being. Now, do we have anyone here living [in Cyprus](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/cyprus-turns-taps-farmers-fresh-water-levels-drop-n881871)? ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/30 "2018-06-23T21:13:26Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > An update if anyone’s interested: thanks to the restrictions and various other measures we reached June without hitting the Day Zero level. June has brought us a lot of rain, and from a low of 20% the dams are now over 40%. [This graph](https://i.imgur.com/xlHqkHf.png) shows what has happened. (It’s five days old and the levels have risen further since then.) Dam levels are now higher than they were on this date two years ago. > > We’re by no means out of the woods yet, and water restrictions will remain for a long time, but the impending crisis has receded quite substantially. Glad to hear this. Hopefully the city will use this time to improve the infrastructure and policies to handle the next drought. Though those rains by themselves don’t actually end the drought. Only time can do that! ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/31 "2018-06-24T05:36:59Z")
The Cape Town city authorities have actually handled the water crisis competently and intelligently. Considering that this was the worst drought for 300 years, and couldn’t have been predicted, and that the population of Cape Town has increased by 50% in last 20 years, they have done very well. Water usage was successfully reduced, particularly in the industrial and farming sectors, as well as for household use. Alternative sources of water - desalinization, ground water, reclamation, etc. - were developed even more quickly than projected. The city didn’t actually run out of water, or even come too close to running out, despite all the prophesies of doom. The water situation is now quickly and steadily improving. The default opinion always seems to be that the authorities/government are useless, incompetent, incapable of proper planning, etc., but that hasn’t been the case here. It’s always easy to be negative and critical and find fault, but let’s give credit where it’s due. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/32 "2018-07-09T15:30:07Z")
Another update: thanks to some massive cold fronts which dumped masses of rain and snow all over the mountains, the reservoirs are still filling and the levels are now at 53%, [as high as they were in 2015.](https://i.imgur.com/ZZgEAcD.png) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/33 "2018-07-11T00:51:08Z")
Did it rain all the Do Dah Day? ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/34 "2018-09-19T15:22:19Z")
Dam levels have now broken through the 70% level - well clear of the “[Danger Zone](https://i.imgur.com/fyfH7mn.png)”. And we are still getting more rain. ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/35 "2018-09-19T15:36:31Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > Dam levels have now broken through the 70% level - well clear of the “[Danger Zone](https://i.imgur.com/fyfH7mn.png)”. And we are still getting more rain. Excellent! Some days [the Horse Learns to Sing after all…](https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sufism/Nasrudin#The_Trial_of_Nasrudin) (Not trying to be snarky in any way - this is an outstanding outcome for Cape Town - I’m just…amazed it’s working out given the doom and gloom from earlier in the year.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/36 "2018-09-19T19:36:48Z")
> [@SuperAbe](#): > > (Not trying to be snarky in any way - this is an outstanding outcome for Cape Town - I’m just…amazed it’s working out given the doom and gloom from earlier in the year.) It’s the same as the Y2K thing - there was all the doom and gloom - and people \*actually did something \*to help fix the problem as a result. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/37 "2019-08-06T13:22:03Z")
Reviving this thread with an update a year later: thanks to continued water-saving and decent amounts of rain, the levels in the reservoirs that supply Cape Town have reached a [four-year high](http://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/damlevels.pdf) of 77%. We may be set for 80-90% full by the end of the rainy season. One of the major supply dams is already 100% full with some [lovely](https://twitter.com/DWS_RSA/status/1156858541929619458) [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlgRZiL4aZI) of the spillways overflowing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/38 "2019-08-06T15:50:42Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It is now, and Cape Town residents are currently restricted to 50 liters. By comparison, residents in most developed nations use over 300 liters a day for normal use That sounded like a lot. A check tells me that INE analyzes total domestic usage every year: numbers from the different providers of potable water to get the local and global averages, poll of users to see what are people using it on. [132 l/person for Spain in domestic use](https://www.geografiainfinita.com/2017/11/este-es-el-mapa-interactivo-del-consumo-de-agua-en-espana/) in 2013 with a lovely graph showing that the numbers trend down. The [results for 2016](https://www.ine.es/prensa/essa_2016.pdf) come down to 136 l/person on average (tch tch people!). Both links in Spanish. For INE’s results, “agua registrada” means water that domestic meters counted (and users paid for directly); “agua no registrada” means water which went to the urban network but which wasn’t metered (city gardens, city cleaning, fountains, losses). Note that the rise was in unmetered water (tch tch _tch_, local governments!). Was your data for residential water or did it include industrial and agricultural use? It still surprises me: in Spain most industrial-use water would come from the network and be metered; agricultural water can come from a different set of networks which wouldn’t be included in INE’s numbers. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/39 "2019-08-06T23:28:35Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s the same as the Y2K thing - there was all the doom and gloom - and people \*actually did something \*to help fix the problem as a result. Which provides a stark contrast to mass shootings. There’s no projected time where we will reach a critical mass of mass shootings that society will completely fail, thus there is no solid reason why we really need to do anything about it. You can also contrast it with the response to climate change, where responsibility is so diffused as to not have anyone think that they can actually stop the problem. In both Y2K and this water crisis, what steps needed to be taken, and by whom, were very clear with a very real future prospect of utter oblivion if they weren’t taken. In the other two situations, this will keep getting worse and worse and people will die/be displaced so slowly that it will never actually be fixed. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004/40 "2019-08-10T16:03:05Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@glowacks](#): > > Which provides a stark contrast to mass shootings. There’s no projected time where we will reach a critical mass of mass shootings that society will completely fail, thus there is no solid reason why we really need to do anything about it. You can also contrast it with the response to climate change, where responsibility is so diffused as to not have anyone think that they can actually stop the problem. In both Y2K and this water crisis, what steps needed to be taken, and by whom, were very clear with a very real future prospect of utter oblivion if they weren’t taken. In the other two situations, this will keep getting worse and worse and people will die/be displaced so slowly that it will never actually be fixed. Let’s not bring mass shootings and other issues into this thread, please. I understand that you are trying to make a point here, but we don’t want to end up hijacking this thread with other issues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cape-town-water-impending-crisis/807004.md?page=3)