Cape Town crisis: City’s water supply dangerously close to running dry

Residents in Cape Town are bracing for ‘Day Zero’, with the city’s water supply dangerously close to running dry.

Dam levels in South Africa’s Western Cape province fell to just 24.5% this week and it’s expected taps will be turned off in April, leaving residents to pick up their water from one of the 200-odd collection points.

Dr Anthony Turton, environmental advisor at the Centre for Environment Management and Professor at University of Free State, told Ross and John drought is a normal way of life for South Africans, but this time the situation is dire.

“Over the past 10 or 20 years the population has grown significantly and there hasn’t been the investment in infrastructure,” Dr Turton said.

“It is a winter rainfall area, so if you can’t store from one season to the next you’re in a very very bad way.

“It’s an absolute crisis.”

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Photo: Nic Bothma, EPA, AAP – Residents of Cape Town collecting drinking water from a mountain spring collection point yesterday, January 31.