Whilst searching up on how climate change has impacted the African region as a whole, an article reported by Independent on 3rd March 2018 caught my eye. This article talks about how climate change is likely the cause of Cape Town completely running out of water due to intensified drought events. Cape Town is a South African City that is a major tourist destination. However, it is also facing a drastic water crisis that could potentially lead to the phenomenon ‘Day Zero’. Day Zero is a day defined by South African authorities whereby water supply is so low that three quarters of it is cut off to the general population.
As already mentioned in my previous blogpost, climate change can result in significant changes to weather patterns. In the case of Cape Town, increasing temperatures in the atmosphere has led to freak lengthy and severe droughts. In 2017, the total annual rainfall was 499mm (Roelf, 2018), which was the lowest amount of rainfall the city has ever experienced. This then directly impacts water resources that are replenished by rainfall negatively. With the increasing unreliability of rainwater, Cape Town has to look into alternate sources of water, which adds onto government funds that could be channeled into developing other infrastructures within the city.
Hence, Cape Town authorities has imposed very strict measures on water usage in order to postpone the inevitable Day Zero. As of 1st October this year, the city has effected level 5 water restrictions (as seen in figure 1) onto its citizens. This means that people are limited to 70 litres of water or less per person per day. This is very restraining, considering that the average amount of water consumed a day by someone living in the UK is 150 litres. In addition to cutting down their water usage on a daily basis, many Cape Town locals have to suffer queueing overnight to stock up on water from drying resources (Roelf, 2018). A gendered element also comes into play with regards to who exactly has to queue, which is a responsibility usually forced upon women and children of the household.
The water crisis has also severely impacted the tourism industry and all its related stakeholders. It has led to international tourist numbers dropping, which is worrying considering the industry’s significant contribution to Cape Town’s GDP (9.8% in 2010). With water restrictions in place, the tourists that come are expected to act responsibly in terms of their water usage in the city. Tourism related sectors, like F&B and hotels, have also implemented short term measures to cut down on excessive water use (Calder, 2018). For example, bars and restaurants have turned off their taps in toilets, advocating for customers to use hand sanitisers instead. Hotels have also switched their pools to saltwater. Thus, the tourism sector is no longer as lucrative to South Africa’s economy. In addition, local businesses that rely on water are also affected. For example, car washing companies have to resort to new, waterless alternatives to clean cars. (as seen in 2:13 onwards of this video). Staff are also laid off because of the declining number of customers to the service, meaning that some households may have lost their (sometimes the sole) source of income. With less disposable income available, these families have to start living much frugal lifestyles that takes time getting used to and can be very stressful, especially if the household has vulnerable members (i.e. children, elderly, sick).
Of course, one positive thing that arises from this bleak situation is that more people are now aware of the dangers climate change imposes onto their daily lives. This has led to people becoming more cautious with their water usage and appreciating that they still have access to clean potable water, despite it being of very little volume. There has also been an increase in rallies to the government to seek new alternatives, which then cultivates innovation in companies in charge of providing water to the masses.
However, while a recent report by the BBC talks about how the imminent Day Zero seems to be gone completely, it still mentions how droughts are still a pressing threat to the community, despite some dams seeing an increase in their water volume. Even with Cape Town’s strict water management strategies, which helps with ensuring that everyone in the city would get access to water, if the root of climate change is not tackled, Cape Town residents would continue to live with the fear that they will run out of water in the city. Hence, the severity of climate change on humans, in this case with regards to the water supply, can be observed in Cape Town, South Africa.
As already mentioned in my previous blogpost, climate change can result in significant changes to weather patterns. In the case of Cape Town, increasing temperatures in the atmosphere has led to freak lengthy and severe droughts. In 2017, the total annual rainfall was 499mm (Roelf, 2018), which was the lowest amount of rainfall the city has ever experienced. This then directly impacts water resources that are replenished by rainfall negatively. With the increasing unreliability of rainwater, Cape Town has to look into alternate sources of water, which adds onto government funds that could be channeled into developing other infrastructures within the city.
Figure 1: Level 5 Water Restriction Categories (Source: ThinkWater, 2018)
The water crisis has also severely impacted the tourism industry and all its related stakeholders. It has led to international tourist numbers dropping, which is worrying considering the industry’s significant contribution to Cape Town’s GDP (9.8% in 2010). With water restrictions in place, the tourists that come are expected to act responsibly in terms of their water usage in the city. Tourism related sectors, like F&B and hotels, have also implemented short term measures to cut down on excessive water use (Calder, 2018). For example, bars and restaurants have turned off their taps in toilets, advocating for customers to use hand sanitisers instead. Hotels have also switched their pools to saltwater. Thus, the tourism sector is no longer as lucrative to South Africa’s economy. In addition, local businesses that rely on water are also affected. For example, car washing companies have to resort to new, waterless alternatives to clean cars. (as seen in 2:13 onwards of this video). Staff are also laid off because of the declining number of customers to the service, meaning that some households may have lost their (sometimes the sole) source of income. With less disposable income available, these families have to start living much frugal lifestyles that takes time getting used to and can be very stressful, especially if the household has vulnerable members (i.e. children, elderly, sick).
Of course, one positive thing that arises from this bleak situation is that more people are now aware of the dangers climate change imposes onto their daily lives. This has led to people becoming more cautious with their water usage and appreciating that they still have access to clean potable water, despite it being of very little volume. There has also been an increase in rallies to the government to seek new alternatives, which then cultivates innovation in companies in charge of providing water to the masses.
However, while a recent report by the BBC talks about how the imminent Day Zero seems to be gone completely, it still mentions how droughts are still a pressing threat to the community, despite some dams seeing an increase in their water volume. Even with Cape Town’s strict water management strategies, which helps with ensuring that everyone in the city would get access to water, if the root of climate change is not tackled, Cape Town residents would continue to live with the fear that they will run out of water in the city. Hence, the severity of climate change on humans, in this case with regards to the water supply, can be observed in Cape Town, South Africa.
If you're interested in observing how much water is being used in Cape Town, check out this water dashboard that keeps track of the daily usage in the city!
Hi Eva! This post is really interesting, particularly with regards to the fact that I wrote on it but with a different perspective, namely a political perspective. It is interesting that you put the emphasis on environmental change, while I (and some other students who chose the "water and politics" topic) believed the most important aspect was politics. We tended to say that the root of the crisis was actually political mismanagement rather than climate change, because the risk had been well-known for years! So, while I do not agree with you on the choice of focus, I believe it could provide a good basis for a debate on Cape Town's water crisis actually. And in any case, your use of data is very insightful and detailed, thank you for that!
ReplyDeleteSarah Champagne