South Africa’s Cape Town has pushed back its estimate for “Day Zero,” to 2019 after latest data showed rising dam levels in the country.
Day zero is the date that taps are expected to run completely dry.
Authorities had initially feared that the date would come as soon as June, even introducing water rationing measures in efforts to push it further ahead.
An El Nino-triggered drought two years ago hit agricultural production and economic growth throughout South Africa. Cape Town was particularly hard hit, and lack of good subsequent rains around the city has made its water shortage worse.
The City of Cape Town said on its web site that Day Zero had been “pushed out to 2019.”
The stringent consumption restrictions, which now stand at 50 litres per person per day, still remain in effect however.
Dam levels for the Western Cape province, which includes Cape Town, were at 18.3 percent last week compared with 19 percent the week before, according to South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs. Elsewhere, the water situation has been improving.
The Vaal Dam, a major supply source for Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg, Pretoria and much of South Africa’s industry, was at 94.7 percent, up from 83.5 percent the week before.
Cape Town typically gets rain in the southern hemisphere winter, starting around May. Above-average-rainfall is now forecast over the next three months, according to the latest seasonal outlook from the South African Weather Service.
