Water, Water, Everywhere, but not a Drop to Drink

Rachel Jacobs

Ms. Bennett

World Lit Honors 1 Period

22 March 2018

Water, Water, Everywhere, but not a Drop to Drink

Flushing toilets and washing cars are normal activities expected of American citizens, but are Americans taking these simple acts for granted? Around the world, drought and water shortages have prevented many populations from performing these simple tasks in attempts to conserve water (Watts). One city in particular is more desperate than ever for its citizens to cut down on water usage: Cape Town.

As the first major city to almost completely run out of water, Cape Town has displayed what others may have to contend with in the future. It’s no secret that global weather patterns are changing and that resources are not being handled responsibly. More and more cities will likely have to face water limitations soon, and making plans to support large populations will be essential to prevent anarchy and chaos (Welch).

Even though the drought could have been avoided, Cape Town’s government and citizens must now await the imminent Day Zero, the day the government completely shuts off water to the taps. Currently projected for June 4th (Twiggs), Day Zero will occur when the water in Cape Town’s largest reservoir hits 13.5% capacity (Watts). The government has had to limit the daily water consumption per capita to less than ⅙ of what an American uses (National). The drought has not only affected the lives of the citizens, but all aspects of Cape Town’s society.

The causes of the drought are mainly due to the actions of humans. Climate change and population growth are the major catalysts of the three year drought. As the planet has gotten warmer due to massive carbon emissions, rain patterns are now considerably different today than they were decades ago. Looking at historic rainfall trends, it would appear that a drought of this magnitude is only supposed to occur once every 300 years; it is supposedly too early for this drought to have occurred (Wolski). As more people have settled in Cape Town due to its beautiful environment, population numbers have skyrocketed. The water supplies were squandered and now it cannot support the large population (National). Thus, the population along with other sectors of Cape Town are suffering.

The economy, along with the daily lives of citizens, has deteriorated with this crisis. Due to a lack of tourists, the economy is facing the loss of an important industry (Twigg). Agricultural production has been limited in favor of delegating water to towns, causing many in this industry to lose jobs (Weekend). Alongside losing jobs, it is difficult for citizens to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Personal hygiene is harder to manage because only short showers once a week are alloted and doing laundry is a luxury (Christian). While it is difficult for citizens to be so conservative, it has greatly helped in the effort to save water.

While Day Zero feels imminent to many, efforts made by the government and citizens have helped to push it further into the future. The government has created many plans that will hopefully continue the preservation of the remaining water. Some of these methods include the creation of desalination plants and the drilling of new wells in various locations (Nordling). Other ideas that seem to be working incorporate the shaming of high water users (Welch) and lowering pipe pressure (Watts). With these restrictions, and others in mind, there are many who believe that, with valiant efforts from all citizens, Day Zero may be avoidable altogether (Watts).

Works Cited

Christian, Bonnie. “As Day Zero Nears, Cape Town's Drought Is a Stark Reminder: Climate Change Can Cause Conflict.” WIRED, WIRED UK, 6 Feb. 2018, www.wired.co.uk/article/cape-town-water-crisis-day-zero-climate-change.

Nordling, Linda. “Ecologists up in Arms over Cape Town's Plans to Ease Water Crisis by Drilling into Aquifer.” Science Mag, 26 Feb. 2018, www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/ecologists-arms-over-cape-town-s-plans-ease-water-crisis-drilling-aquifer.

Twigg, Melissa. “Cape Town Drought: Should Travelers Still Visit?” CNN Wire, 16 Feb. 2018. Global Issues In Context [Gale], ic.galegroup.com/ic/gic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=&displayGroupName=News&docIndex=&source=DirectLinking&prodId=&mode=view&jsid=425036b7207bed1e3628014fcc47a0f6&limiter=&display-query=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&windowstate=normal&currPage=&dviSelectedPage=&scanId=&query=&search_within_results=&p=GIC%3AOVIC&catId=&u=los42754&displayGroups=&documentId=GALE%7CA527803722&activityType=BasicSearch&failOverType=&commentary=.

Watts, Jonathan. “Cape Town Faces Day Zero: What Happens When the City Turns off the Taps?” The  Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Feb. 2018, www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/03/day-zero-cape-town-turns-off-taps.

Weekend Edition Sunday. South African Farmers Lose Crops and Workers Amid Crippling Drought, 4 Feb. 2018, ic.galegroup.com/ic/gic/AudioDetailsPage/AudioDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Audio&currPage=&scanId=&query=&docIndex=&source=&prodId=GIC&search_within_results=&p=GIC%3AOVIC&mode=view&catId=&u=los42754&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CA529600880&windowstate=normal&activityType=BasicSearch&failOverType=&commentary=.

Welch, Craig. “Why Cape Town Is Running Out of Water, and Who's Next.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 5 Mar. 2018, news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/cape-town-running-out-of-water-drought-taps-shutoff-other-cities/.

Wolski, Piotr. “How Severe Is the Drought? An Analysis of the Latest Data.” GroundUp, 22 Jan. 2018, www.groundup.org.za/article/how-severe-drought-detailed-look-data/.