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Cape Town Nearly Became the First Major City to Run Out of Water. The Next Day Zero Could Now Happen Anywhere
When Doctor Anthony Turton, a South African-born water scientist and leading thinker on water security and hydropolitics, did an interview with BBC News to speak about the water crisis in South Africa, he never knew how his life was about to change. The single interview was broadcast to communities across the globe, awakening countless professionals to the importance of honouring water resources. The interview, conducted in an empty pool, ‘for effect’, as Dr Turton explained, was in response to Cape Town, South Africa’s ‘Day Zero threat’, which happened around 2018. This was when the city experienced a major water crisis and came within weeks of becoming the first major modern city to run out of municipal water. Reservoir levels dropped to historic lows after a multi-year drought, leading authorities to announce the Day Zero threat. ‘Day Zero’ is the point used to describe when dam storage falls below 13.5 %, municipal taps are switched off, and residents have to queue for daily rations of no more than 25 litres of water per person. A Water Crisis That Changed How Cities Think Dr Turton is a Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State,...
