Are you planning to have a bath today or heading towards any water park to beat the heat? If you are nodding affirmatively then please note that the accessibility of this precious commodity is getting dwindling down in some part of the world. This is called Day Zero and place to be known as Capetown, a City in South Africa.
Day Zero is when most of
the city taps will run dry or switched off. This will mark the start of active water
rationing in Capetown. People will get only designated amount of water. City
authorities have aimed to achieve a target of average daily demand
of less than 450 million liters which exactly is 50 liters per person
per day.
Why is Capetown running out of water?
- Population-According to some sources, there is population increase in the city which is about 50 percent rise in last decade. Rising population demand resources to survive and in turn led to depletion of resources.
- Dwindling Rainfall-Rainfall is consider to be a natural way to recharge groundwater or dams. As sources of Capetown water got its share from rainfall but less downpour contribute to dryness of dams and in turn led to the situation.
- Plan Failure-Planning is considered to be a crucial thing in the management of resources. Since it was known earlier that the water resources may not able to stable in future but no action was taken and this failure of planning ultimately drag to the situation called Day zero.
- Budget Constraints-A continuous financial flow is vital to manage resources However if there exists any sort of impediment in that then that enhance the problem. In this case, Budgetary constraints played role in exacerbating the situation.
Impacts of Day Zero
- Accessibility issue-There appears to be social bias in accessing the resources where the poor ones have less accessibility to the rationed water than their richer counterparts.
- Health risk-Since water is vital for the daily chores and unavailability of the same led to diseases which in turn burden the health system. Inadequate sanitation led to health hazards which can enhance the mortality rate.
- Water Mafia-It appears to be an opportunity for few who hijack the situation to serve their own means. Water Mafia has reared their heads and makes the bounty out of the situation. Water is being supplied using tankers and that led to a new form of water economy.
- Agricultural impact-Since agriculture needs a continuous water supply to sustain itself and unavailability of same led to reduced output and rise in unemployment. This may have a wider impact on macroeconomic credentials of South Africa.
Solutions for Capetown Water crisis
- Rainwater Harvesting-Harvesting mechanisms need to be installed everywhere right from the public places to the residential areas. The government needs to assist residents in installing these mechanisms either financially or administratively.
- Use Non Potable water-water which is unfit for use like water in which we have washed our clothes can be used effectively to flush the toilets.
- Desalination of sea water-Sea water consists of a lot of salts so desalination plants can be installed to desalinate the water and make it fit for human consumption
- Global Intervention-Various Global Institutions and groups should stand with South Africa and help them to resolve the impending water crisis
It is indeed an eye-opening scenario for all. It should not be viewed in silos rather have to take on a serious note. If it happens today in Capetown then next can be Newyork or Beijing or Tokyo. Concerted efforts need to be made earliest to conserve this resource so that our future generation does not need to battle with the situation which we are facing today. Therefore ‘Save Water Save Life’ should be our motto from now onwards.
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