Residents of South Africa’s Cape Town are bracing themselves for a water supply shut off.
Authorities have now moved up Day Zero to April 12 with the city has already halving its water use and ordering residents to lower their consumption to 87 litres per day.
“The water crisis in Cape Town and the Western Cape Province requires a massive public involvement process where citizens adhere to and assist in identifying those who still continue to use water irresponsibly,” Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane said.
Mokonyane was speaking as Day Zero is drawing near, threatening to make Cape Town the first metropolis in the world to run out of water.
Day Zero refers to the time when dams supplying water to Cape Town run dry, water taps are switched off and residents have to collect water at designated points.
Cape Town and Western Cape continue to see falling reservoir capacities. The combined capacity of the 43 dams in the province decreased by 1.37 percent in the last week to 25.21 percent, according to Mokonyane.
Cape Town, now on Level 6B water restrictions, is still not achieving its target of 500 megaliters per day. Instead, it is exceeding the target by approximately 86 megaliters per day, the minister said.
Mokonyane also refuted criticism that the central government has failed to help address the water crisis in Cape Town, administered by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).
