FEB 2 CAPE TOWN'S WATER CRISIS BRACES FOR DAY ZERO

FEB 2  CAPE TOWN'S WATER CRISIS BRACES FOR DAY ZERO

The Cape Town metropolis is running out of water! On Monday, city officials announced their first rationing order, effective immediately. Citizens are limited to 50 liters a day. Yikes! Consider this: Americans plow through about 350 liters a day...seven times this amount. A city this large (population: 4 million) has never been forced to do anything like this before.

With summer still in full swing, it looks like things are only going to become more dire. See, the city is completely dependent on a six reservoir system for its entire water supply. This means that...until it rains...there is a finite amount of water to live on. To insure it lasts, Cape Town authorities have established a DAY ZERO. This is when all water deliveries are suspended. That day is April 18, but it could move up sooner.

Why sooner? Because the current system of fining violators is simply failing. Although Apartheid is gone, South Africa remains a deeply divided society. And nowhere are the gaps between rich and poor more on display than in swanky Cape Town. So here's what's happening. The wealthy are simply paying the fines and continuing to use the same amounts of water. Meanwhile, the impoverished shantytowns have no choice but to adhere to the restrictions.

How bad is it? A shameful 55% of Capetonians are not complying with the demand. "It's really quite unbelievable that a majority of people do not care about rationing." quipped the mayor's office. "They are sending us headlong into DAY ZERO. Then we will force them to comply." Watch out! As expected, local authorities are preparing for the worst come DAY ZERO. Pretoria is sending in the national guard troops with plenty of reserves ready.

Let's pray that the situation plays out peacefully. We also pray to the powerful Zulu Rain Gods to bless the Cape Province with some stellular storms come winter. Because...let's face it...scientific projections don't look very rosy. Long term weather models just show shorter winters and hotter summers. The basic problem in the Cape or California or Canberra is the same. Just because your population grows doesn't mean your water supply does. Ignoring this fact is the root of the problem.