Day Zero

Before I headed out on my walk around the city I went into the hotel bathroom and was confronted with posters requesting users preserve water and delay 'Day Zero'. There were also posters in the foyer - and as I found out later in my bathroom - explaining how the water flow from showers had been limited to less than a quarter of the usual flow.

In the last five years it seems that water supplies for Cape Town had been steadily falling; last year some dams feeding the city were at just over ten percent of capacity. Consequently there was the real risk that severe water restrictions would be imposed on the city - municipal supplies would be turned off and people would have to queue for their water rations. This would have made Cape Town the first major city in the world to have run out of water. Day Zero was the day on which this would take place and was at one stage forecast for 12 April 2018. Fortunately extensive water conservation and good rainfall last year has allowed Day Zero to be permanently postponed.