Citizens of #CapeTown are being urged to limit use of water to 87 liters (about 23 gallons) per person, per day as their water crisis worsens. The city’s population has doubled in 20 years therefore they haven’t been able to keep up water supply.
In addition, the popular tourist destination has been in extreme drought for three years and it is feared that the South African city’s water supply will dry up by April 22nd. They are referring to this as “Day Zero.”
ABC News reports that the city’s government has implemented an “online water consumption map” which allows residents to keep tabs on how well or how poorly their neighbors are conserving water. It’s received some backlash, but city officials believe overall that this is the best way for Cape Town to understand the severity of the issue while saving as much as they can.
“The potential water-saving benefit for all of Cape Town of making water consumption indicators publicly available outweighs any privacy issues at this stage of the crisis‚” mayoral spokeswoman Zara Nicholson said.
The water levels of Cape Town’s dams, which are mostly sourced from rainfall, have dipped below 30% with only 19.7% of that considered usable. When they drop to 13.5% or lower, water supply will be shut off from everyone except hospitals and other essential services.
TSR STAFF: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on IG
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/drought-stricken-cape-town-south-africa-run-water/story?id=52402170
Photo Credit: ABC News
